Shloka 3
दानपात्रापात्र-निर्णयः / Determining Worthy Gifts, Recipients, and Permissible Food
प्रायश्षित्तकथा होषा भक्ष्याभक्ष्यविवर्जिता | कौतूहलानुप्रवणा हर्ष जनयतीव मे,भक्ष्य और अभक्ष्यसे रहित, उपवासस्वरूप प्रायश्चित्तकी यह चर्चा बड़ी उत्सुकता पैदा करनेवाली है। यह मेरे हृदयमें हर्ष-सा उत्पन्न कर रही है
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: Prāyaścittakathā hy eṣā bhakṣyābhakṣyavivarjitā | Kautūhalānupravāṇā harṣaṁ janayatīva me ||
प्रायश्चित्तकथा ह्येषा भक्ष्याभक्ष्यविवर्जिता । कौतूहलानुप्रवणा हर्षं जनयतीव मे ॥
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira values expiation as an inner ethical process, not merely a ritual centered on dietary rules; true prāyaścitta should cultivate clarity, restraint, and moral renewal.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira responds to a discourse on prāyaścitta, expressing that a treatment of penance not preoccupied with food-permitted/forbidden distinctions fills him with curiosity and a hopeful joy.