Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 7
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas and the Sin-destroying Power of Viṣṇu-smaraṇa
अज्ञानाद्वाह्मणं हत्वा चीरवासा जटी भवेत् । स्वेनैव हतविप्रस्य कपालमपि धारयेत् ॥ ७ ॥
ajñānādvāhmaṇaṃ hatvā cīravāsā jaṭī bhavet | svenaiva hataviprasya kapālamapi dhārayet || 7 ||
اگر نادانی سے کسی نے برہمن کو قتل کر دیا ہو تو وہ چھال کے کپڑے پہنے، جٹا دھارے؛ اور اپنے ہی ہاتھوں مارے گئے اس برہمن کی کھوپڑی بھی ساتھ رکھے۔
Sūta (narrating Purāṇic teaching on prāyaścitta; framed as Narada Purana instruction)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It emphasizes that even unintended grave harm (done in ignorance) requires deliberate purification through visible austerity and sustained penance, restoring moral order (dharma) through prāyaścitta.
Indirectly: it prepares the practitioner for sincere devotion by insisting on ethical accountability and inner purification; bhakti in the Purāṇic framework is strengthened when one removes the burden of major sins through prescribed atonement.
Kalpa (ritual procedure) is implied—this is a rule of prāyaścitta practice describing external marks (bark garments, matted hair) and a penitential observance used in Dharma-śāstra style ritual discipline.