Adhyaya 131: Expiation for Chewing the Tooth-stick (Dantakāṣṭha)
Dantakāṣṭha-carvaṇa-prāyaścitta
Ritual-Manual
This adhyāya is framed as a didactic dialogue between Varāha and Pṛthivī concerning ritual purity and the ethical consequences of daily conduct. Varāha states that a person who approaches him after chewing a dantakāṣṭha can nullify previously accumulated wrongdoing, presenting the act as a potent purifier. Pṛthivī, grounded in dharma, questions the internal logic: how can a single fault or act erase extensive past karma that normally entails great suffering? Varāha responds with an explanation rooted in bodily impurity—describing the mouth as filled with phlegm, bile, blood, pus, and foul odor—and claims that chewing the tooth-stick destroys the “seed” of such impurity while simultaneously implying a lapse in bhāgavata-style purity when proper conduct is absent. Pṛthivī then requests a corrective procedure for those who omitted the tooth-stick yet performed rites. Varāha prescribes a prāyaścitta involving sleeping on open ground/sky (ākāśa-śayana) for two or five days while abstaining from dantakāṣṭha, concluding that the offense is thereby removed.
Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 131
Verse 1
अथ दन्तकाष्ठाचर्वणप्रायश्चित्तम् ॥ श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ दन्तकाष्ठमचरवित्वा यो हि मामुपसर्पति ॥ पूर्वकालकृतं कर्म तेन चैकेन नश्यति
अब दातुन चबाने का प्रायश्चित बताता हूँ। वराह भगवान बोले, जो भी मुझ पास आता है बिना दातुन चबाये, उसकी पुरानी कर्म की गल्ती सिर्फ एक काम से मिट जाती है।
Verse 2
नारायणवचः श्रुत्वा पृथिवी धर्मसंश्रितः ॥ विष्णुभक्तसुखार्थाय हृषीकेशमुवाच ह
नारायण की बात सुन के वसुंधरा, जो धरम पे चलती थी, विष्णु के भक्तों के सुख के लिए हृषीकेश से बोली।
Verse 3
धरण्युवाच ॥ सर्वकालकृतं कर्म क्लेशेन महताऽनघ ॥ कथमेकापराधेन सर्वमेव प्रणश्यति ॥
धरनी ने पूछा। बोलो, इतने साल की मेहनत से जो कर्म बुना है, एक गलती से सब कैसे खत्म हो सकता है? इतनी मेहनत लगी थी, अब एक छोटी सी गलती से सब गायब?
Verse 4
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ शृणु सुन्दरी तत्त्वेन कथ्यमानं मयाऽनघे ॥ येन चैका पराधेन पूर्वकर्म प्रणश्यति ॥
वराह ने कहा। सुनो, मैं तुम्हे सच बता रहा हूँ। एक गलती से पुराना कर्म कैसे मिट जाता है, यह मैं समझाता हूँ। ध्यान से सुनो।
Verse 5
मनुष्यः किल्बिषी भद्रे कफपित्तसमन्वितः ॥ पूयशोणितसम्पूर्णं दुर्गन्धि मुखमस्य तत् ॥
इंसान के अंदर बहुत कमियाँ होती हैं। उसके मुँह में कफ और पित्त भरा होता है। उसमें पीप और खून भी होता है। और बदबू भी आती है। यह सब इंसान के शरीर में होता है।
Verse 6
तत्सर्वबीजं नश्येत दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणात् ॥ शुद्धिर्भागवती चैव आचारेण विवर्जिता ॥
जब इंसान दातुन खाता है, तो उसकी सारी बुरी चीज़ें खत्म हो जाती हैं। लेकिन भगवान की भक्ति के लिए सही आचार चाहिए। बिना सही आचार के भक्ति साफ नहीं होती।
Verse 7
धरण्युवाच ॥ दन्तकाष्ठमखादित्वा यः कर्माणि करोति ते ॥ प्रायश्चित्तं च मे ब्रूहि येन धर्मो न नश्यति ॥
धरनी ने फिर पूछा। अगर कोई दातुन नहीं खाता और फिर भी कर्म करता है, तो उसके लिए क्या प्रायश्चित है? बताओ ऐसा उपाय जिससे धरम खत्म न हो। क्या करना चाहिए?
Verse 8
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ एवमेतन्महाभागे यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि ॥ कथयिष्यामि हीदं ते यथा शुध्यन्ति मानवाः ॥
वराह बोले, हाँ, तुमने जो पूछा वो सही है। मैं तुम्हे अब बताता हूँ कि इंसान खुद को साफ कैसे करें।
Verse 9
आकाशशयनं कृत्वा दिनानि द्वे च पञ्च च ॥ अभुक्तदन्तकाष्ठाश्च एवं शुध्यन्ति मानवाः ॥
दो दिन या पाँच दिन खुले में सोना है। दातुन भी नहीं करनी। ऐसा करने से इंसान साफ हो जाता है।
Verse 10
कुतस्तस्यापराधोऽस्ति एवमेव न संशयः ॥
इसमें कोई गलती कैसे हो सकती है? कोई शक नहीं, बात यही है।
Verse 11
एवं ते कथितं भद्रे दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणम् ॥ य एतेन विधानेन प्रायश्चित्तं समाचरेत् ॥
तो भाई, दातुन खाने का पूरा बताया मैंने तुम्हे। जो इस तरह से प्रायश्चित करेगा, वो साफ हो जाएगा।
Inside Adhyaya 131
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
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).
- Central event
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.
- Climax resolution
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.
Geographical context
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.
Ritual instructions
- Primary RitualPrāyaścitta for omission/irregularity concerning dantakāṣṭha in the context of ritual performance
- BenefitRemoval of the specific doṣa connected with improper/omitted dantakāṣṭha discipline and restoration of ritual-moral purity (śuddhi) for continued bhāgavata-oriented conduct.
The narrative frame
- VarāhaPṛthivī · Didactic, juridical-dharmic, with a probing objection-and-resolution structure (pṛcchā–uttara) centered on karmic proportionality and bodily purity.
The emotional journey
- Dominant RasaŚānta
- Emotional ProgressionFrom normative instruction → intellectual doubt about karmic mechanics → vivid confrontation with bodily impurity → reassurance through a clear, bounded expiation that re-stabilizes dharma.
Planning a pilgrimage
- Visit FeasibilityNot applicable as a site-based pilgrimage chapter; the teaching is portable and practice-oriented rather than tied to a named tīrtha.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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