Shloka 38
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
अश्वमेधो महायज्ञ: प्रायश्षित्तमुदाह्मतम् । तमाहर महाराज विपाप्मैवं भविष्यसि,इसके लिये महान् यज्ञ अश्वमेध ही प्रायश्चित्त बताया गया है। महाराज! तुम इस यज्ञका अनुष्ठान करो। ऐसा करनेसे तुम पापरहित हो जाओगे
aśvamedho mahāyajñaḥ prāyaścittam udāhṛtam | tam āhara mahārāja vipāpmā evaṁ bhaviṣyasi ||
Vyāsa disse: “O Aśvamedha, o grande sacrifício, foi declarado como expiação. Portanto, realiza-o, ó grande rei; ao cumprir este rito, ficarás livre do pecado.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Serious moral and ritual impurity can require formal prāyaścitta; here Vyāsa presents the Aśvamedha as a royal expiation that restores the king to purity and dharmic standing.
In Śānti Parva’s post-war setting, Vyāsa addresses a king burdened by sin or remorse and instructs him to perform the Aśvamedha sacrifice as the prescribed means of purification.