Brahmahatyā Vibhāga
The Brahmahatyā Vibhāga (the sharing out of brahmahatyā) is told in the Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 282. Bhīshma tells it to Yudhishṭhira as a continuation of the account of the killing of Vṛtra. After Indra killed Vṛtrāsura, the pāpa (sin) of brahmahatyā, the killing of a brāhmaṇa, fell on him. Indra shared it among four bearers: the pipal tree (aśvattha), the rivers, the earth and women. Each one took a part and each received a vara (a boon) in return.
The pāpa
Indra killed Vṛtrāsura with the joint power of Bhagavān Śiva and Bhagavān Vishṇu. After the killing, the brahmahatyā, the heaviest of the mahāpātakas (great pāpas), attached itself to Indra.
Vṛtrāsura was an asura in body. Yet he had come from the yajña of Tvashṭā, as the longer account in the Vana Parva tells. So he was joined to a brāhmaṇa creator, and this gave the pāpa its character of brāhmaṇa-killing.
The signs of brahmahatyā appeared on Indra. His form became dull and his tejas (radiance) grew less. The weight of the pāpa pressed on him.
Indra shares the pāpa
Indra went to four bearers in turn: the pipal tree, the rivers, the earth and women. To each he offered a vara if they would take a part of the brahmahatyā. Each one took one quarter.
The pipal tree
Indra gave the pipal tree this vara: whoever does pūjā to the pipal tree, goes round it with devotion and prays to it, will gain puṇya (merit) equal to that of great yajñas. The pipal tree took one quarter of the brahmahatyā.
When the bark of the pipal tree is cut, white sap comes out. This is the visible mark of the pāpa the tree took on. So the pipal tree is both sacred and a bearer of this burden.
The rivers
Indra gave the rivers the vara of cleansing themselves. A river can purify itself simply by flowing in flood. The rivers gather impurity from all the bodies and pāpas that are washed in them, and this vara was given in return for taking one quarter of the brahmahatyā. This is why the rivers are held to purify human beings.
The earth
Indra gave the earth the vara that any wound made in her body, such as a trench, a pit or a channel, would be healed and filled again by her own power. The earth took one quarter of the brahmahatyā. This is why the earth can carry the weight of all beings, living and dead, pure and impure, without lasting harm.
Women
Indra gave women the vara of increased desire, kāma-bāhulya, so that desire and pleasure continue even in the time when they are apart from their partners. Women took one quarter of the brahmahatyā. The monthly cycle of women is the visible sign of the pāpa they carry. The tradition lays down certain rules for that time.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 282 (Brahmahatyā Vibhāga, told by Bhīshma to Yudhishṭhira)
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva (the account of Vṛtra’s birth from the yajña of Tvashṭā)