Adhyaya 131: Expiation for Chewing the Tooth-stick (Dantakāṣṭha)
Dantakāṣṭha-carvaṇa-prāyaścitta
Ritual-Manual
अस्मिन्नध्याये वराहः पृथिवीं प्रति शौचाचारयोः फलदोषौ निरूपयति। दन्तकाष्ठं चर्वित्वा यः तं समुपैति, तस्य पूर्वसञ्चितपापक्षयः शुद्धिकरत्वेन कथ्यते। पृथिवी धर्मयुक्त्या पृच्छति—कथं लघुदोषः बहुकर्मफलम् अपहर्तुं शक्नोति? वराहः मुखस्य कफपित्तशोणितपूयदुर्गन्धादिमलपूर्णत्वं वर्णयन् दन्तकाष्ठचर्वणेन तस्य मलबीजनाशं वदति, तथा च यथाविध्याचाराभावे भागवतशौचभङ्गं सूचयति। अनन्तरं दन्तकाष्ठं विना कृतकर्मणां शुद्ध्यर्थं पृथिव्या प्रायश्चित्तं याचिते, वराहः आकाशशयनं (भूमौ विवृते) द्विदिनं पञ्चदिनं वा, दन्तकाष्ठवर्जनसहितं विधाय, तेन दोषनिवृत्तिं निष्कर्षयति।
Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 131
Verse 1
अथ दन्तकाष्ठाचर्वणप्रायश्चित्तम् ॥ श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ दन्तकाष्ठमचरवित्वा यो हि मामुपसर्पति ॥ पूर्वकालकृतं कर्म तेन चैकेन नश्यति
अथ दन्तकाष्ठाचर्वणप्रायश्चित्तम्। श्रीवराह उवाच—दन्तकाष्ठमचरवित्वा यो हि मामुपसर्पति, तेनैकेन पूर्वकालकृतं कर्म नश्यति।
Verse 2
नारायणवचः श्रुत्वा पृथिवी धर्मसंश्रितः ॥ विष्णुभक्तसुखार्थाय हृषीकेशमुवाच ह
नारायणवचः श्रुत्वा पृथिवी धर्मसंश्रिता; विष्णुभक्तसुखार्थाय हृषीकेशं प्रत्युवाच।
Verse 3
धरण्युवाच ॥ सर्वकालकृतं कर्म क्लेशेन महताऽनघ ॥ कथमेकापराधेन सर्वमेव प्रणश्यति ॥
धरण्युवाच—सर्वकालकृतं कर्म क्लेशेन महता अनघ, कथमेकापराधेन सर्वमेव प्रणश्यति?
Verse 4
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ शृणु सुन्दरी तत्त्वेन कथ्यमानं मयाऽनघे ॥ येन चैका पराधेन पूर्वकर्म प्रणश्यति ॥
श्रीवराह उवाच—शृणु सुन्दरी, अनघे, मया तत्त्वतः कथ्यमानम्; येन एकया पराधेन पूर्वकर्म नश्यति।
Verse 5
मनुष्यः किल्बिषी भद्रे कफपित्तसमन्वितः ॥ पूयशोणितसम्पूर्णं दुर्गन्धि मुखमस्य तत् ॥
मनुष्यः किल्बिषी भद्रे कफपित्तसमन्वितः; पूयशोणितसम्पूर्णं दुर्गन्धि मुखमस्य तत्।
Verse 6
तत्सर्वबीजं नश्येत दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणात् ॥ शुद्धिर्भागवती चैव आचारेण विवर्जिता ॥
तत्सर्वबीजं नश्येत दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणात्; शुद्धिर्भागवती चैव आचारेण विवर्जिता।
Verse 7
धरण्युवाच ॥ दन्तकाष्ठमखादित्वा यः कर्माणि करोति ते ॥ प्रायश्चित्तं च मे ब्रूहि येन धर्मो न नश्यति ॥
धरण्युवाच—दन्तकाष्ठमखादित्वा यः कर्माणि करोति ते; प्रायश्चित्तं च मे ब्रूहि येन धर्मो न नश्यति।
Verse 8
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ एवमेतन्महाभागे यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि ॥ कथयिष्यामि हीदं ते यथा शुध्यन्ति मानवाः ॥
श्रीवराह उवाच—एवमेतन्महाभागे यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि; कथयिष्यामि हीदं ते यथा शुध्यन्ति मानवाः।
Verse 9
आकाशशयनं कृत्वा दिनानि द्वे च पञ्च च ॥ अभुक्तदन्तकाष्ठाश्च एवं शुध्यन्ति मानवाः ॥
आकाशशयनं कृत्वा दिनानि द्वे पञ्च वा, अभुक्तदन्तकाष्ठाश्च—एवं मानवाः शुध्यन्ति।
Verse 10
कुतस्तस्यापराधोऽस्ति एवमेव न संशयः ॥
कुतस्तस्यापराधोऽस्ति? एवमेव, न संशयः।
Verse 11
एवं ते कथितं भद्रे दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणम् ॥ य एतेन विधानेन प्रायश्चित्तं समाचरेत् ॥
एवं ते कथितं भद्रे दन्तकाष्ठस्य भक्षणम्; य एतेन विधानेन प्रायश्चित्तं समाचरेत्…
Inside Adhyaya 131
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Varāha and Pṛthivī enter a dharma-śāstra style discussion on daily ācāra and ritual purity, focusing on the ethical weight of seemingly minor bodily practices (especially oral cleanliness).
- Central event
Varāha asserts a striking claim: approaching him after chewing a dantakāṣṭha can nullify previously accumulated wrongdoing; Pṛthivī challenges the karmic logic of how a single act could erase extensive past demerit.
- Climax resolution
Varāha justifies the rule through a corporeal-impurity rationale—depicting the mouth as a locus of phlegm, bile, blood, pus, and foul odor—and frames dantakāṣṭha as destroying the ‘seed’ of impurity; he then provides a corrective prāyaścitta for those who omitted the tooth-stick yet performed rites: ākāśa-śayana for two or five days with abstention related to dantakāṣṭha.
Geographical context
No explicit historical sites, rivers, regions, or sacred groves are mentioned in this adhyāya; the setting is a dialogic, non-localized instructional context between Varāha and Pṛthivī.
Ritual instructions
- Primary RitualPrāyaścitta for omission/irregularity concerning dantakāṣṭha in the context of ritual performance
- BenefitRemoval of the specific doṣa connected with improper/omitted dantakāṣṭha discipline and restoration of ritual-moral purity (śuddhi) for continued bhāgavata-oriented conduct.
The narrative frame
- VarāhaPṛthivī · Didactic, juridical-dharmic, with a probing objection-and-resolution structure (pṛcchā–uttara) centered on karmic proportionality and bodily purity.
The emotional journey
- Dominant RasaŚānta
- Emotional ProgressionFrom normative instruction → intellectual doubt about karmic mechanics → vivid confrontation with bodily impurity → reassurance through a clear, bounded expiation that re-stabilizes dharma.
Planning a pilgrimage
- Visit FeasibilityNot applicable as a site-based pilgrimage chapter; the teaching is portable and practice-oriented rather than tied to a named tīrtha.
Frequently Asked Questions
The chapter frames everyday bodily discipline (especially oral cleanliness and regulated conduct) as ethically consequential: the text instructs that correct practice surrounding dantakāṣṭha and prescribed expiation for lapses functions to restore ritual and moral order, presented through a debate on how a single act can affect accumulated karma.
No lunar phases (tithi), months, or seasonal markers are specified. The only timing given is duration: the prāyaścitta is to be undertaken for either two days or five days (dināni dve ca pañca ca), along with ākāśa-śayana and abstention related to dantakāṣṭha.
Environmental stewardship is implicit rather than explicit: Pṛthivī’s role as the questioning Earth foregrounds a terrestrial-ethical lens in which personal conduct (ācāra) is treated as part of maintaining dharma. The dialogue suggests that disciplined daily practices and corrective penances contribute to social-ritual stability, which the text often associates with the well-being of the Earth as a moral-ecological order.
No royal lineages, sages, or administrative figures are named in this passage. The only figures explicitly present are Varāha (as instructor) and Pṛthivī (as dharma-oriented interlocutor).
Ask anything about Adhyaya 131 of the Varaha Purana
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