Prayashchitta

A general term meaning atonement for
one’s misdeeds. The Hindu religious tradition gives considerable attention to
penance and expiation, based on the
almost universal Hindu belief in the
inexorable workings of karma.
According to this notion, all good and
bad deeds will eventually have their
effect, either in this life or the next, and
thus one must either atone for the evil
one has done or face its consequences
in the future. Prescriptions for such
expiation can be found as far back as the
Vedas, and the acts prescribed for
atonement fall into several categories:
confession, repentance (which was usually seen as preparation for expiation,
rather than absolution of the evil itself),
restraint of breath (pranayama), physical asceticism (tapas), fire sacrifice
(homa), recitation of prayers (japa),
gift-giving (dana), fasting (upavasa),
and travel to sacred sites (tirthayatra).
The prayashchitta literature is quite
well developed, both in detailing
differing kinds of offenses and their
potentially mitigating circumstances,
and in laying out the types of atonement
to be performed for each offense. For
further information see Pandurang
Vaman Kane (trans.), A History of
Dharmasastra, 1968.