Shloka 463
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
आत्मानं जुहुयादग्नौ समिद्धे तेन शुद्धयते । गर्भके बच्चेकी हत्या करनेवाला यदि युद्धमें शस्त्रोंके आधातसे मर जाय तो उसकी शुद्धि हो जाती है अथवा प्रज्वलित अग्निमें कूदकर अपने आपको होम दे तो वह शुद्ध हो जाता है
ātmānaṃ juhuyād agnau samiddhe tena śuddhyate |
ビーシュマは説く。よく燃えさかる火に己が身を供物として投じれば、人は清めを得る。その行いによって浄化されるのである。周辺の倫理的議論において、これは重い罪に対する贖罪の手段として示される—戦場で武器の打撃に倒れて死ぬにせよ、燃え盛る火に身を投じて自らを供犠とするにせよ、自己犠牲による浄化である。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purification from severe sin is said to be attainable through extreme expiation: offering oneself into a well-kindled fire (or, in the broader passage, dying under weapons in battle). The emphasis is on self-surrender as a purificatory act within the dharma framework of prāyaścitta.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and expiations. Here he states a specific expiatory rule: one who offers oneself into a blazing fire becomes purified, presented amid discussion of remedies for grievous transgressions.