Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa
शतादूर्द्धूं सहस्त्रांतं प्रोक्तं चांद्रायणत्रयम् । सहस्त्रादधिकस्तेये ब्रह्महत्याव्रतं चरेत् ॥ ५४ ॥
śatādūrddhūṃ sahastrāṃtaṃ proktaṃ cāṃdrāyaṇatrayam | sahastrādadhikasteye brahmahatyāvrataṃ caret || 54 ||
百を超え千までの価値の盗みには、三倍のチャーンドラーヤナの苦行が規定される。しかし千を超える場合、ブラフマハティヤー(バラモン殺し)の罪を償う誓戒を行うべきである。
Narada (teaching prāyaścitta-dharma in a didactic passage)
Vrata: Cāndrāyaṇa (traya/threefold)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
It frames wrongdoing in terms of dharmic accountability: as the material gravity of theft increases, the required prāyaścitta intensifies, emphasizing inner purification through disciplined vrata rather than mere outward remorse.
While not explicitly devotional, it supports bhakti indirectly by insisting on moral purification (śuddhi) through vrata—creating fitness for sustained worship and remembrance of the Divine without the burden of unexpiated pāpa.
Ritual-practice timing and structure are implied through the Cāndrāyaṇa (a lunar-based penance), connecting to Jyotiṣa-style calendrical discipline and Kalpa-oriented procedural observance.