उपनिषद् · Bhasmajābāla 2.47
॥
देवनागरी
कापिलेन पयसाभिषिच्य रुद्रसूक्तेन मामेव शिवलिङ्गरूपिणं ब्रह्महत्यायाः पूतो भवति । कापिलेनाज्येनाभिषिच्य स्वर्णस्तेयात्पूतो भवति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
kāpilena payasābhiṣicya rudrasūktena māmeva śivaliṅgarūpiṇaṃ brahmahatyāyāḥ pūto bhavati | kāpilenājyenābhiṣicya svarṇasteyātpūto bhavati
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
कापिलेन पयसा अभिषिच्यkāpilena payasā abhiṣicyahaving bathed [it] with milk of a tawny cow
रुद्र-सूक्तेन माम् एव शिव-लिङ्ग-रूपिणंrudra-sūktena mām eva śiva-liṅga-rūpiṇaṃwith the hymn to Rudra, me indeed, having the form of the śiva-liṅga
ब्रह्म-हत्यायाः पूतः भवतिbrahma-hatyāyāḥ pūtaḥ bhavatihe becomes pure of the killing of a brahmin
कापिलेन आज्येन अभिषिच्यkāpilena ājyena abhiṣicyahaving bathed [it] with ghee of a tawny cow
स्वर्ण-स्तेयात् पूतः भवतिsvarṇa-steyāt pūtaḥ bhavatihe becomes pure of the theft of gold
अनुवाद
«Having bathed [it] with milk of a tawny cow, with the hymn to Rudra, me indeed, having the form of the śiva-liṅga — he becomes pure of the killing of a brahmin. Having bathed [it] with ghee of a tawny cow — he becomes pure of the theft of gold».
संस्करण
9dde52c8e0d8 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
A list begins: what to bathe with, and from which sin one is thereby cleansed. It will take two lines: milk, ghee, honey, sugar. This structure deserves noting, for it is the structure of a tariff: to every substance, its own sin.
Let us say of such tariffs what can honestly be said of them. They are convenient, and so they endure. A person who knows himself guilty of something seeks what he should do; and the tariff gives a definite answer: take such-and-such and bathe with it.
Their danger lies in that they turn guilt into a transaction. Where there is a set price, there is haggling too; and anyone who has dealt with a system of penalties knows how it ends: people pay and carry on. The Vaishnava side has such tariffs too — its books of rules list atonements as well — but it sets over them what was discussed when reading the first chapter (1.21). The Bhāgavatam directly calls atonement the bathing of an elephant, who at once wallows in dust again (6.1.9–10), and says it removes the sin but not the inclination.
Separately worth mentioning kapila, «the tawny cow». The milk of a tawny cow is considered best in the rite; and this detail shows how physical these prescriptions are: not any milk will do, but milk from a cow of a particular coloring.