Shloka 18
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
मृतकस्य त्रिरात्रे यः समुद्दिष्टे समश्षुते । सप्त त्रिषवर्णं स्नात्वा पूतो भवति ब्राह्मण:
mṛtakasya trirātre yaḥ samuddiṣṭe samaśnute | sapta triṣavarṇaṃ snātvā pūto bhavati brāhmaṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma bersabda: Seorang brāhmaṇa yang selama tiga malam berturut-turut memakan makanan yang dipersembahkan sehubungan dengan kematian (di rumah yang berada dalam ketidakmurnian karena duka) akan menjadi suci kembali dengan mandi pada tiga waktu peralihan—pagi, tengah hari, dan senja—selama tujuh hari.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Contact with death-related impurity through eating food offered in that context creates ritual defilement, and dharma prescribes a specific purification: thrice-daily bathing for seven days, emphasizing disciplined restoration of purity rather than denial of the transgression.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhīṣma lays down a rule about a brāhmaṇa who repeatedly eats in a household under death-impurity and states the required purificatory practice to regain ritual fitness.