Shloka 44
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
यद् रात्रौ कुरुते पापं ब्राह्मण: स्त्रीगणैर्व॒त: । महाभारतमाख्याय पूर्वा संध्यां प्रमुच्यते,ब्राह्मण रात्रिके समय स्त्रियोंक समुदायसे घिरकर जो पाप करता है वह प्रातःकालकी संध्याके समय महाभारतका पाठ करनेसे छूट जाता है
yad rātrau kurute pāpaṃ brāhmaṇaḥ strīgaṇair vṛtaḥ | mahābhāratam ākhyāya pūrvāṃ sandhyāṃ pramucyate ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Whatever sin a brāhmaṇa commits at night while surrounded by a company of women, he is released from it by reciting the Mahābhārata at the time of the morning twilight (the early sandhyā). The verse underscores the purificatory power attributed to sacred recitation and the ethical demand for self-restraint, especially regarding nocturnal misconduct.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sacred recitation—specifically of the Mahābhārata—performed at the morning sandhyā is regarded as a powerful means of purification, and it implicitly reinforces the expectation of moral restraint, especially for those held to higher standards of conduct.
Vaiśampāyana states a phalaśruti-style claim about the merit of reciting the Mahābhārata: even sins committed at night (illustrated through the example of a brāhmaṇa amid a group of women) are said to be absolved by recitation at the morning twilight.