Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 17
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
मृतस्य दशरात्रेण प्रायश्चित्तानि दापयेत् सावित्री रैवतीमिष्टिं कृूष्माण्डमघमर्षणम्
mṛtasya daśarātreṇa prāyaścittāni dāpayet | sāvitrīṃ raivatīm iṣṭiṃ kūṣmāṇḍam aghamarṣaṇam ||
ಮರಣಾನಂತರದ ದಶರಾತ್ರಿಯ ಅಶೌಚಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರಾದರೂ ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅನ್ನವನ್ನು ಭುಂಜಿಸಿದರೆ, ಅವನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾಯಶ್ಚಿತ್ತಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಸಬೇಕು—ಸಾವಿತ್ರೀ (ಗಾಯತ್ರಿ) ಜಪ, ರೈವತೀ-ಕರ್ಮ, ಶುದ್ಧ್ಯರ್ಥ ಇಷ್ಟಿ, ಕೂಷ್ಮಾಂಡ ಅನುವಾಕ ಮತ್ತು ಅಘಮರ್ಷಣ ಪಠಣ.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that violations committed during the sensitive period of death-impurity (maraṇa-āśauca) require deliberate expiation. Dharma is maintained not only by avoiding improper conduct but also by restoring purity through prescribed mantra-recitation and rites when a lapse occurs.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma lays down a specific rule: if someone eats food while under the ten-day death-impurity connected with another household, he should undertake named purificatory recitations/rites—Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī), Raivatī, an iṣṭi, Kūṣmāṇḍa, and Aghamarṣaṇa—to remove the fault.