Shloka 30
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
शिर:कपाले चास्यैव युज्जत: पितुरद्य मे । प्रायक्षित्तं हि नास्त्यन्यद्धत्वाद्य पितरं मम
śiraḥkapāle cāsyāiva yujjataḥ pitur adya me | prāyaścittaṃ hi nāsty anyad dhatvādya pitaraṃ mama ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Hari ini, setelah membunuh ayahku sendiri, tiada penebusan lain bagiku. Tapaku hanya ini: menyelubungi diri dengan kulitnya dan mengembara sambil membawa kepala serta tengkoraknya.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the gravity of violating dharma through patricide and frames expiation (prāyaścitta) as a severe, identity-marking penance. It underscores moral accountability: some acts are so destructive that only harsh, long-term self-discipline and public bearing of the consequence is considered fitting.
A speaker, reported by Vaiśampāyana, declares that after killing his father he sees no alternative expiation. He proposes a grim penance: to cover himself with the father’s skin and to wander while carrying the father’s head and skull, signaling both remorse and the enormity of the deed.