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 ||
മരണാനന്തര ദശരാത്രി അശൗചകാലത്ത് ആരെങ്കിലും മറ്റൊരാളുടെ വീട്ടിൽ അന്നം കഴിച്ചാൽ, അവനോട് പ്രായശ്ചിത്തങ്ങൾ ചെയ്യിക്കണം—സാവിത്രി (ഗായത്രി) ജപം, റൈവതീ-കർമ്മം, ശുദ്ധ്യർത്ഥ ഇഷ്ടി, കൂഷ്മാണ്ഡ അനുവാകം, അഘമർഷണ പാഠം.
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.