Shloka 38
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
वीरं हि क्षत्रियं हत्वा गोशतेन प्रमुच्यते । पितरं तु निहत्यैवं दुर्लभा निष्कृतिर्मम
vīraṃ hi kṣatriyaṃ hatvā gośatena pramucyate | pitaraṃ tu nihatyaivaṃ durlabhā niṣkṛtir mama ||
Sebab dengan membunuh seorang ksatria yang gagah, seseorang dapat terbebas dari dosa itu melalui penebusan berupa seratus hadiah sapi. Namun setelah membunuh ayah sendiri, memperoleh penebusan yang serupa—bagiku amat sukar didapat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts degrees of moral transgression: even grave violence like killing a heroic warrior is presented as having a recognized expiation (a hundred cow-gifts), whereas killing one’s father is portrayed as a uniquely weighty sin whose atonement is extremely difficult.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a reflection on guilt and expiation: the speaker measures conventional ritual atonements for battlefield killing against the far more severe, socially and ethically catastrophic act of patricide, emphasizing the near-impossibility of cleansing that stain.