Shloka 45

Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)

Devanagari script

जानता तु कृतं॑ पापं गुरु सर्व भवत्युत । अज्ञानात्‌ स्वल्पको दोष: प्रायश्षित्तं विधीयते,जान-बूझकर किया हुआ सारा पाप भारी होता है और अनजानमें वैसा पाप बन जानेपर कम दोष लगता है। इस प्रकार भारी और हलके पापके अनुसार ही उसके प्रायश्चित्तका विधान है

Transliteration

jānatā tu kṛtaṃ pāpaṃ guru sarvaṃ bhavaty uta | ajñānāt svalpako doṣaḥ prāyaścittaṃ vidhīyate ||

Translation

ヴィヤーサは言う。知りつつ犯した罪はことごとく重罪となる。だが無知から生じた過失は咎が比較的軽い。ゆえに贖罪は、その過ちの重さ軽さに応じて定められる。

Word by Word

जानताknowing, intentional (doer)

तुbut, however

कृतम्done, committed

पापम्sin, wrongdoing

गुरुheavy, grave

सर्वम्entire, all

भवतिbecomes, is

उतand also, moreover

अज्ञानात्from ignorance; due to ignorance

स्वल्पकःsmall, slight

दोषःfault, guilt

प्रायश्चित्तम्expiation, penance

विधीयतेis prescribed, is enjoined

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Moral weight depends strongly on intention and awareness: deliberate wrongdoing is treated as a grave sin, while faults arising from ignorance carry lesser culpability; accordingly, expiations (prāyaścitta) are graded to match the severity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a principle for ethical and legal-religious judgment: how to assess wrongdoing and determine appropriate atonement based on whether the act was done knowingly or out of ignorance.