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 ||
मृत्यूनंतरच्या दहा रात्रींच्या अशौचकाळात जर कोणी दुसऱ्याच्या घरी अन्न खाईल, तर त्याच्याकडून प्रायश्चित्त करवावे—सावित्री (गायत्री) जप, रैवती-कर्म, शुद्ध्यर्थ इष्टि, कूष्माण्ड-अनुवाक् आणि अघमर्षण पाठ.
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.