Shloka 51
The Account of Women
Householder Ethics, Fault, Merit, and Govinda-Nāma as Purification
एतान्यन्यानि पापानि महान्ति पातकानि च । अग्निं प्राप्य यथा तूलं तृणं शुष्कं प्रणश्यति
etānyanyāni pāpāni mahānti pātakāni ca | agniṃ prāpya yathā tūlaṃ tṛṇaṃ śuṣkaṃ praṇaśyati
ही व इतर पापे—महापातकसुद्धा—अग्नीला लागल्यावर जसे कोरडे कापूस व कोरडे गवत नष्ट होते, तसेच नष्ट होतात।
Unspecified (context needed to identify the dialogue pair in Adhyaya 52)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: एतान्यन्यानि = एतानि + अन्यानि (यण्-सन्धि); अग्निं = अग्निम् (अनुस्वार); तूलं = तूलम्; प्रणश्यति unchanged.
FAQs
It teaches that even severe sins (mahāpātakas) can be eradicated through a powerful purifying agency, illustrated by the metaphor of dry cotton or grass being instantly consumed by fire.
Fire symbolizes rapid purification and irreversible destruction; dry cotton/grass represent how vulnerable accumulated sins are when confronted by an intense spiritual purifier (often understood in Purāṇic contexts as devotion, sacred rites, or transformative knowledge).
It encourages moral reform and spiritual effort by emphasizing that wrongdoing is not permanent fate—through sincere purification and right practice, one can overcome even heavy moral burdens.