Shloka 29
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
दुश्चरा द्वादशसमा हत्वा पितरमद्य वै । ममेह सुनृशंसस्य संवीतस्यास्य चर्मणा,“आज पिताकी हत्या करके मेरे लिये बारह वर्षोतक कठोर व्रतका पालन करना अत्यन्त कठिन है। मुझ क्रूर पितृघातीके लिये यहाँ यही प्रायश्नित्त है कि मैं इन्हींके चमड़ेसे अपने शरीरको आच्छादित करके रहूँ और अपने पिताके मस्तक एवं कपालको धारण किये बारह वर्षोतक विचरता रहूँ। पिताका वध करके अब मेरे लिये दूसरा कोई प्रायश्ित्त नहीं है
duścarā dvādaśa-samā hatvā pitaram adya vai | mameha sunṛśaṁsasya saṁvītasyāsya carmaṇā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Having slain my father today, it is exceedingly hard for me to undertake a harsh vow lasting twelve years. For me—cruel and guilty of patricide—this alone is the expiation here: to keep my body covered with his very hide, and to wander for twelve years bearing my father’s head and skull. After killing my father, there is no other atonement for me.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical framework in which certain acts—especially patricide—are treated as extraordinarily grave, demanding severe, long-term expiation. It highlights accountability: wrongdoing is not erased by regret alone but requires disciplined, socially visible penance aimed at moral restoration.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśaṃpāyana) declares that after killing his father he must undertake a twelve-year penance. The described expiation is extreme: covering the body with the father’s hide and wandering while bearing the father’s head/skull, emphasizing the weight of the अपराध (offense) and the perceived lack of any lighter remedy.