Shloka 37

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

Devanagari script

संवत्सरेण पतति पतितेन सहाचरन्‌ | याजनाध्यापनाद यौनान्न तु यानासनाशनात्‌,पतितके साथ रहनेसे, उसका यज्ञ करानेसे और उसे पढ़ानेसे मनुष्य एक वर्षमें पतित हो जाता है; परंतु उसकी संतानके साथ अपनी संतानका विवाह करनेसे, एक सवारी या एक आसन पर बैठनेसे तथा उसके साथमें भोजन करनेसे वह एक वर्षमें नहीं, किंतु तत्काल पतित हो जाता है

Transliteration

saṃvatsareṇa patati patitena sahācaran | yājanādhyāpanād yaunān na tu yānāsanāśanāt ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“与堕者同居同事者，一年之内便成堕者；为其主持祭祀，或教导于他，亦复如是。然而，若与其族系结为婚姻之盟，或与之同乘一车、同坐一席、同食一餐，则不待一年——堕落立刻发生。”

Word by Word

संवत्सरेणin/within a year (by a year as measure)

पततिfalls (becomes fallen/impure)

पतितेनwith a fallen person

सहtogether/with

आचरन्practising/associating (while doing)

याजनfrom officiating at sacrifices (for others)

अध्यापनात्from teaching (him)

यौनात्from marital/sexual relation (intermarriage)

नnot

तुbut/however

यानfrom riding/vehicle (sharing conveyance)

आसनfrom seat (sharing a seat)

अशनात्from eating (together)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

patita (a fallen person/outcaste)

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?

Bhishma distinguishes degrees of moral/ritual contamination: some forms of association with a ‘fallen’ person lead to degradation over time (general companionship, priestly service, teaching), while intimate boundary-crossing acts—marital/sexual alliance and sharing conveyance, seat, or food—are treated as causing immediate fall.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhishma is laying down norms of conduct and social boundaries, explaining to the listener how different interactions with a patita are evaluated and what consequences they are said to bring.