Shloka 60

Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation

Devanagari script

अल्पे वाप्यथ शोचेत पृथक्‌ संवत्सरं चरेत्‌ । त्रीणि श्रोत्रियभार्यायां परदारे च द्वे स्मृते

Transliteration

alpe vāpy atha śocet pṛthak saṃvatsaraṃ caret | trīṇi śrotriyabhāryāyāṃ paradāre ca dve smṛte ||

Translation

பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—சிறிய குற்றமாயினும் மனம் வருந்தி, பரிகாரமாக ஒரு ஆண்டு தனித்திருந்து விரதம் மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும். வேதம் ஓதிய (ஶ்ரோத்ரிய) பிராமணனின் மனைவியை அணுகினால் மூன்று ஆண்டுகள்; பிறன் மனைவியை அணுகினால் இரண்டு ஆண்டுகள்—என்று ஸ்மிருதிகளில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Word by Word

अल्पेin a small (matter/offence)

वाor

अपिeven/also

अथthen/now

शोचेतshould grieve/repent

पृथक्separately/apart

संवत्सरम्a year

चरेत्should live/practise (a penance)

त्रीणिthree

श्रोत्रियभार्यायाम्in/with the wife of a learned Brahmin (śrotriya)

परदारेin/with another's wife

चand

द्वेtwo

स्मृतेare prescribed/remembered (in tradition)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches graded expiation (prāyaścitta) proportional to the gravity of sexual misconduct: remorse is required even for minor faults, and stricter penance is prescribed for violating protected relationships—especially involving a Veda-learned Brāhmaṇa’s wife and, more generally, another man’s wife.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he cites traditional Smṛti-based norms about remorse and periods of living apart as penance, specifying different durations depending on the offense.