Shloka 753
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
मांसं मूत्रं पुरीषं च प्राश्य संस्कारमर्हति । अनास्तिक पुरुषोंके लिये एक गोदानमात्र ही प्रायश्चित्त बतलाया गया है। कुत्ते, सूअर, मनुष्य, मुर्गे और गदहेके मांस और मल-मूत्र खा लेनेपर द्विजका पुनः संस्कार होना चाहिये
bhīṣma uvāca | māṁsaṁ mūtraṁ purīṣaṁ ca prāśya saṁskāram arhati |
भीष्म उवाच— मांसं मूत्रं पुरीषं च प्राश्य संस्कारमर्हति। नास्तिकस्य तु गोदानमेकमेव प्रायश्चित्तमुदाहृतम्। श्वानसूकरनरकुक्कुटगर्दभानां मांसं मलमूत्रं च भुक्त्वा द्विजस्य पुनः संस्कारो विधीयते॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that serious violations of purity norms—especially consuming forbidden or impure substances—require formal expiation and restorative rites (saṁskāra) to re-establish dharmic eligibility; it also notes a specific expiation (cow-gift) in the case of a nāstika.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira about rules of conduct and expiation, specifying what purification is required when a dvija consumes impure substances and mentioning related expiations for particular cases.