Mahapataka

(“Great Sinner”) In the dharma literature, a person who has committed one
of the Four Great Crimes, namely murdering a brahmin (brahmahatya), stealing a brahmin’s gold (steya), drinking
liquor (surapana), or committing adultery with the wife of one’s guru (gurutalpaga). These crimes were considered
so heinous that the performer became
an outcast from society. Another indication of the gravity of these acts was that
their expiations (prayashchitta) were so
severe that they normally ended in
death; in some cases this outcome was
specifically prescribed. Aside from prescribing such punishments for the actual
offenders, the dharma literature also
prescribed similar outcaste status for
anyone who knowingly associated with
such people for more than one year.