Shloka 44
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
इष्टवा यथावद् बलभिदरुणायामुपास्पृशत् | स मुक्तः पाप्मना तेन ब्रह्म॒वध्याकृतेन च
iṣṭvā yathāvad balabhid-aruṇāyām upāspṛśat | sa muktaḥ pāpmanā tena brahmavadhyākṛtena ca
Having duly performed the prescribed rite, he then touched water at Balabhid-Aruṇā as a purificatory act. By that observance he was freed from the taint of sin—specifically, from the grave guilt incurred through the slaying of a brāhmaṇa—thus restoring ritual and moral purity after a transgressive deed.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the aftermath of grave wrongdoing, dharma provides structured means—properly performed rites and purification—to acknowledge transgression and seek release from its moral and ritual taint, emphasizing accountability and restoration rather than denial.
The narrator states that the person in question completes a rite correctly and then performs a purificatory water-touching at the sacred place called Aruṇā; through this observance he becomes freed from the sin, explicitly including the heavy guilt of brāhmaṇa-slaying.