Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 22
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
क्षत्रिय: सह यो5श्रीयाद ब्राह्मणो5प्येकभोजने । आप्लुत: सह वासोभिस्तेन मुच्येत पाप्मना,जो ब्राह्मण क्षत्रियोंके साथ एक पंक्तिमें भोजन करता है, वह वस्त्रोंसहित स्नान करनेसे पापमुक्त होता है
bhīṣma uvāca | kṣatriyaḥ saha yo 'śrīyād brāhmaṇo 'py ekabhojane | āplutaḥ saha vāsobhis tena mucyeta pāpmanā ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: Kahit ang isang brāhmaṇa na umupo sa iisang hanay kasama ng isang kṣatriya at nakisalo sa parehong pagkain—kung pagkatapos ay maligo siya nang suot ang kanyang mga kasuotan—ay napapalaya sa kasalanang idinulot nito. Inilalarawan ng aral ang paglilinis na pang-ritwal bilang paraan upang maibalik ang kaayusang panlipunan at etikal matapos ang paglabag sa hangganan ng pakikisalo sa pagkain.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that when a brāhmaṇa incurs ritual/ethical impurity by eating in the same communal setting with a kṣatriya (treated here as a transgressive mixing), a prescribed act of purification—bathing while still wearing one’s garments—functions as an expiation that removes the resulting demerit.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma lays down a specific rule of prāyaścitta: he identifies an act considered blameworthy in that normative framework (shared dining across varṇa boundaries) and immediately provides the remedial rite (clothed bath) by which the fault is cleansed.