Shloka 6
कालनिर्देशः शोकनिवारणं च
Instruction on Kāla and the Removal of Grief
ग्रामघाती च कौन्तेय मांसस्य परिविक्रयी । यश्चाग्नीनपविध्येत तथैव ब्रद्मुविक्रयी
grāmaghātī ca kaunteya māṁsasya parivikrayaḥ | yaścāgnīn apavidhyet tathaiva brahmavikrayaḥ ||
व्यास उवाच—ग्रामघाती च कौन्तेय मांसस्य परिविक्रयी। यश्चाग्नीनपविध्येत तथैव ब्रह्मविक्रयी—एते महापातकिनः; तेषां प्रायश्चित्तं विधीयते।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies certain livelihoods and acts—destroying a village, selling meat, arson, and commodifying sacred learning—as grave adharma because they harm society or profane what is sacred; such offenses call for prāyaścitta (expiation).
In Śānti Parva’s dharma-instruction, Vyāsa addresses Kaunteya (Yudhiṣṭhira) and enumerates categories of serious wrongdoing, situating them within a broader discussion of sin, social responsibility, and the need for expiatory rites.