Shloka 38
Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)
अह:ःसु सततं तिष्ठेदभ्याकाशं निशां स्वपन् । त्रिरह्नि त्रिर्निशायां च सवासा जलमाविशेत्
ahaḥsu satataṁ tiṣṭhed abhyākāśaṁ niśāṁ svapan | trir ahni trir niśāyāṁ ca savāsā jalam āviśet ||
ವ್ಯಾಸನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಅವನು ಹಗಲು ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ನಿಂತಿರಲಿ; ರಾತ್ರಿ ತೆರೆಯಾದ ಆಕಾಶದ ಕೆಳಗೆ ನಿದ್ರಿಸಲಿ. ಹಗಲು ಮೂರು ಬಾರಿ ಮತ್ತು ರಾತ್ರಿ ಮೂರು ಬಾರಿ, ವಸ್ತ್ರಗಳೊಡನೆ ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಲಿ.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches rigorous self-restraint and bodily discipline as a form of expiation and purification: sustained endurance (standing by day), simplicity (sleeping under the open sky), and repeated ritual bathing are presented as means to cleanse faults—especially those arising from ignorance—when undertaken as a formal vow.
Within Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and remedial practices, Vyāsa prescribes a specific austerity-based observance (vrata/prāyaścitta), detailing its daily regimen (posture, sleeping conditions, and frequency of bathing) as part of guidance on how a dvija may atone for unintended wrongdoing.