Shloka 13

Devanagari script

यः पाप॑ कुरुते राजा काममोहबलात्कृतः । प्रत्यासन्नस्य तस्यर्षे कि स्थात्‌ पापप्रणाशनम्‌,“महर्षे! यदि कोई राजा काम और मोहके वशीभूत होकर पाप कर बैठे, किंतु फिर उसे पश्चात्ताप होने लगे तो उसके उस पापको दूर करनेके लिये कौन-सा प्रायश्ित्त है?

Transliteration

yaḥ pāpaṃ karute rājā kāma-moha-balāt kṛtaḥ | pratyāsannasya tasyarṣe kiṃ syāt pāpa-praṇāśanam ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「おお聖仙よ、もし王が欲望と迷妄の力に圧されて罪を犯し、しかし後に悔恨がその胸に起こったなら、その罪を滅するための贖罪（プラーヤシュチッタ）はいかなるものか。」

Word by Word

यःwho (he who)

पापम्sin, evil deed

कुरुतेdoes, commits

राजाking

कामdesire, lust

मोहdelusion

बलात्by force, under compulsion

कृतःdone, having been done / having done

प्रत्यासन्नस्यof one who has approached/come near (i.e., has turned back/repented)

तस्यof him, his

ऋषेO sage

किम्what?

स्थात्would be / should be

पापof sin

प्रणाशनम्removal, destruction

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Raja (king)

Rishi (sage)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when wrongdoing is driven by desire and delusion, the text frames moral recovery through prāyaścitta (expiation) grounded in remorse and a return to dharma, emphasizing accountability in kingship.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-discourse, Bhīṣma raises a question to a sage about what expiatory measure can remove a king’s sin when the king later becomes repentant.