Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa
करीषच्छादितो दग्धः स्तेयपापाद्विमुच्यते । ब्रह्मस्वं क्षत्रियो हृत्वा पश्चात्तापमवाप्य च ॥ ४१ ॥
karīṣacchādito dagdhaḥ steyapāpādvimucyate | brahmasvaṃ kṣatriyo hṛtvā paścāttāpamavāpya ca || 41 ||
牛糞に覆われ、ついで焼かれる者は、盗みの罪から解き放たれる。同様に、ブラーフマナの財を奪ったクシャトリヤも、悔恨(パシュチャーッターパ)を得たのち清められる。
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada on prāyaścitta and dharma)
Vrata: prāyaścitta for steya / brahmasva-apahāra
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
It stresses that wrongdoing (especially theft) has karmic consequences, and that purification requires prāyaścitta—both an outer corrective act and inner moral reformation through remorse.
Though framed as dharma and expiation, it supports bhakti indirectly: sincere repentance and ethical rectification are presented as prerequisites for a pure mind fit for devotion and worship.
It reflects Dharma-śāstra style procedural knowledge—how specific sins are classified and what prāyaścitta is prescribed—useful for ritual conduct and social-ethical order rather than a technical Vedāṅga like Jyotiṣa.