Shloka 28
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
अभार्या शयने बिश्रच्छूद्रं वृद्धं च वै द्विज: । अब्राह्माणं मन््यमानस्तृणेष्वासीत पृष्ठत: । तथा संशुध्यते राजन् शृणु चात्र वचो मम
bhīṣma uvāca | abhāryā śayane viśracchūdraṁ vṛddhaṁ ca vai dvijaḥ | abrāhmaṇaṁ manyamānas tṛṇeṣv āsīta pṛṣṭhataḥ | tathā saṁśudhyate rājan śṛṇu cātra vaco mama ||
ビーシュマは言った。「もし二度生まれの者が、正妻ならぬ女を自らの寝台に上らせるなら、あるいは老いた首陀羅を敬うなら——また、刹帝利や吠舎などの非婆羅門を特別に尊ぶべき者と見なし、高座に座らせて自分は後ろで草の敷物に座るなら——その者は婆羅門としての身分と行いから堕ちる。王よ、かかる者がいかにして清められるか、我が言葉を聞け。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that a Brahmin’s identity is sustained by disciplined conduct: sexual exclusivity with one’s lawful wife and careful observance of prescribed norms of honor and seating. Violations are framed as a ‘fall’ from Brahminhood, for which purification/atonement is then to be prescribed.
In the Shanti Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhishma addresses the king and lists behaviors that cause a Brahmin to lose standing; he then signals that he will explain the method of purification (saṁśuddhi/prāyaścitta) for such lapses in the subsequent discussion.