Shloka 56

Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation

Devanagari script

ऊर्ध्व त्रिभ्योडपि वर्षेभ्यो यजेताग्निष्ठता परम्‌ । ऋषभेैकसहसंर वा गा दत्त्वा शौचमाप्नुयात्‌

Transliteration

ūrdhvaṃ tribhyo 'pi varṣebhyo yajetāgniṣṭhata param | ṛṣabhaikasahasraṃ vā gā dattvā śaucam āpnuyāt ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「厳しい戒律のもとに満三年を過ごしたのち、最高の贖罪としてアグニシュトーマ祭（Agniṣṭoma）を修すべきである。その後、牡牛一千頭――あるいは同数の牝牛――を婆羅門たちに施せば、人は清浄に至る。この教えが示す清浄とは、ただ悔いることではなく、持続する自制ののちに、荘厳なヴェーダの儀礼と、布施による大いなる償いをもって成るのである。」

Word by Word

• {'ūrdhvam': 'afterwards

• thereafter (in sequence)', 'tribhyaḥ api varṣebhyaḥ': 'even after three years

• after three full years', 'yajeta': 'should perform a sacrifice

• should worship by sacrifice', 'agniṣṭhataḥ param': 'Agniṣṭoma as the highest (parama) expiation/rite (contextual sense)', 'ṛṣabha': 'bull', 'eka-sahasram': 'one thousand', 'vā': 'or', 'gāḥ': 'cows', 'dattvā': 'having given

• by giving (as a gift/donation)', 'śaucam': 'purity

• ritual and moral cleanliness', 'āpnuyāt': 'would obtain

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Agniṣṭoma (yajña)
• ṛṣabha (bull)
• gāḥ (cows)
• Brāhmaṇas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Purification from serious fault is presented as a structured path: sustained self-restraint over time, completion of a major Vedic sacrifice (Agniṣṭoma), and substantial charitable giving (a thousand bulls or cows) to Brāhmaṇas—linking inner discipline, ritual responsibility, and social restitution.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma and expiation in the Śānti Parva, he prescribes a specific prāyaścitta: after a three-year period of disciplined living, the person should perform the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice and then donate a large number of cattle to Brāhmaṇas to regain śauca (purity).