Shloka 49
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
गुरुतल्पमधिष्ठाय दुरात्मा पापचेतन: । स्त्रयाकारां प्रतिमां लिंग्य मृत्युना सोडभिशुद्धयति
Bhīṣma uvāca: gurutalpam adhiṣṭhāya durātmā pāpacetanaḥ | striy-ākārāṃ pratimāṃ liṅgya mṛtyunā so ’bhiśuddhyati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「邪心に満ちた悪しき者が師の寝床を犯したなら（すなわちグルの妻と姦通したなら）、その罪から清められるのは、女の形をした像（灼熱の鉄の人形）を抱きしめ、そのまま死ぬことによってのみである。」この箇所は、師の家を汚す罪の重さとダルマの神聖さを示すため、苛烈な贖罪規定を掲げている。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that violating the guru’s marital sanctity (gurutalpa) is among the gravest dharma-transgressions, and it frames purification as requiring an extreme, life-ending expiation—highlighting the seriousness of the offense and the ideal of uncompromising moral accountability.
In the Shanti Parva’s dharma instruction, Bhishma is describing prāyaścitta (expiatory discipline). Here he states a specific, severe expiation for the sin of approaching the guru’s bed—embracing a woman-shaped effigy (understood as heated iron) and dying, which is said to cleanse the sin.