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Dantakāṣṭha-carvaṇa-prāyaścitta
Ritual-Manual
Varaha ne Prithvi ko bataya ki dantakashta chabake aane wala insaan apne purane paap mita sakta hai. Prithvi ne pucha ki ek choti si galti itna bada karm kaise khatam kar sakti hai. Varaha ne kaha ki muh mein kaf, pith, khoon aur sadan hota hai, aur dantakashta is gandagi ki jar hi khatam kar deta hai. Prithvi ne phir pucha ki jo log dantakashta chode hue bhi puja karte hain unka kya upay hai. Varaha ne bataya ki aisa karne wale log khule aasman ke neeche do ya paanch din sone chahiye. Is dauran unhe dantakashta se bhi door rehna padega. Yeh prayschitta karne se unki galti maaf ho jaati hai.
Verse 1
अथ दन्तकाष्ठाचर्वणप्रायश्चित्तम् ॥ श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ दन्तकाष्ठमचरवित्वा यो हि मामुपसर्पति ॥ पूर्वकालकृतं कर्म तेन चैकेन नश्यति
Ab daatun chabane ka prayaschit batata hoon. Varah bhagwan bole, jo bhi mujh paas aata hai bina daatun chabaye, uski poorani karm ki galti sirf ek kaam se mit jaati hai.
Verse 2
नारायणवचः श्रुत्वा पृथिवी धर्मसंश्रितः ॥ विष्णुभक्तसुखार्थाय हृषीकेशमुवाच ह
Narayan ki baat sun ke Vasundhra, jo dharam pe chalti thi, Vishnu ke bhakton ke sukh ke liye Hrishikesh se boli.
Verse 3
धरण्युवाच ॥ सर्वकालकृतं कर्म क्लेशेन महताऽनघ ॥ कथमेकापराधेन सर्वमेव प्रणश्यति ॥
Dharani ne poocha. Bolo, itne saal ki mehnat se jo karma buna hai, ek galti se sab kaise khatam ho sakta hai? Itni mehnat lagi thi, ab ek choti si galti se sab gayab?
Verse 4
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ शृणु सुन्दरी तत्त्वेन कथ्यमानं मयाऽनघे ॥ येन चैका पराधेन पूर्वकर्म प्रणश्यति ॥
Varaha ne kaha. Suno, main tumhe sach bata raha hoon. Ek galti se purana karma kaise mit jata hai, yeh main samjhata hoon. Dhyan se suno.
Verse 5
मनुष्यः किल्बिषी भद्रे कफपित्तसमन्वितः ॥ पूयशोणितसम्पूर्णं दुर्गन्धि मुखमस्य तत् ॥
Insan ke andar bahut kamiyan hoti hain. Uske muh mein kaph aur pitta bhara hota hai. Usme peep aur khoon bhi hota hai. Aur badbu bhi aati hai. Yeh sab insaan ke shareer mein hota hai.
Verse 6
तत्सर्वबीजं नश्येत दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणात् ॥ शुद्धिर्भागवती चैव आचारेण विवर्जिता ॥
Jab insan daatun khaata hai, toh uski saari buri cheezein khatam ho jaati hain. Lekin bhagwan ki bhakti ke liye sahi achar chahiye. Bina sahi achar ke bhakti saaf nahi hoti.
Verse 7
धरण्युवाच ॥ दन्तकाष्ठमखादित्वा यः कर्माणि करोति ते ॥ प्रायश्चित्तं च मे ब्रूहि येन धर्मो न नश्यति ॥
Dharani ne phir poocha. Agar koi daatun nahi khaata aur phir bhi karma karta hai, toh uske liye kya prayaschit hai? Batao aisa upay jisse dharam khatam na ho. Kya karna chahiye?
Verse 8
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ एवमेतन्महाभागे यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि ॥ कथयिष्यामि हीदं ते यथा शुध्यन्ति मानवाः ॥
Varaha bole, haan, tumne jo poocha woh sahi hai. Main tumhe ab batata hoon ki insaan khud ko saaf kaise karein.
Verse 9
आकाशशयनं कृत्वा दिनानि द्वे च पञ्च च ॥ अभुक्तदन्तकाष्ठाश्च एवं शुध्यन्ति मानवाः ॥
Do din ya paanch din khule mein sona hai. Daatun bhi nahi karni. Aisa karne se insaan saaf ho jaata hai.
Verse 10
कुतस्तस्यापराधोऽस्ति एवमेव न संशयः ॥
Isme koi galti kaise ho sakti hai? Koi shak nahi, baat yehi hai.
Verse 11
एवं ते कथितं भद्रे दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणम् ॥ य एतेन विधानेन प्रायश्चित्तं समाचरेत् ॥
Toh bhai, daatun khane ka poora bataya maine tumhe. Jo is tarah se prayaschit karega, woh saaf ho jaayega.
Varāha and Pṛthivī enter a dharma-śāstra style discussion on daily ācāra and ritual purity, focusing on the ethical weight of seemingly minor bodily practices (especially oral cleanliness).
Varāha asserts a striking claim: approaching him after chewing a dantakāṣṭha can nullify previously accumulated wrongdoing; Pṛthivī challenges the karmic logic of how a single act could erase extensive past demerit.
Varāha justifies the rule through a corporeal-impurity rationale—depicting the mouth as a locus of phlegm, bile, blood, pus, and foul odor—and frames dantakāṣṭha as destroying the ‘seed’ of impurity; he then provides a corrective prāyaścitta for those who omitted the tooth-stick yet performed rites: ākāśa-śayana for two or five days with abstention related to dantakāṣṭha.
No explicit historical sites, rivers, regions, or sacred groves are mentioned in this adhyāya; the setting is a dialogic, non-localized instructional context between Varāha and Pṛthivī.
The chapter frames everyday bodily discipline (especially oral cleanliness and regulated conduct) as ethically consequential: the text instructs that correct practice surrounding dantakāṣṭha and prescribed expiation for lapses functions to restore ritual and moral order, presented through a debate on how a single act can affect accumulated karma.
No lunar phases (tithi), months, or seasonal markers are specified. The only timing given is duration: the prāyaścitta is to be undertaken for either two days or five days (dināni dve ca pañca ca), along with ākāśa-śayana and abstention related to dantakāṣṭha.
Environmental stewardship is implicit rather than explicit: Pṛthivī’s role as the questioning Earth foregrounds a terrestrial-ethical lens in which personal conduct (ācāra) is treated as part of maintaining dharma. The dialogue suggests that disciplined daily practices and corrective penances contribute to social-ritual stability, which the text often associates with the well-being of the Earth as a moral-ecological order.
No royal lineages, sages, or administrative figures are named in this passage. The only figures explicitly present are Varāha (as instructor) and Pṛthivī (as dharma-oriented interlocutor).
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