Paravasu Falsely Accuses Arvavasu of Brahminicide

Arvavasu returned to the sacrifice, the vow completed, the sin expunged. He had done what his brother asked. He expected to resume his place as priest. But Paravasu saw him coming. He spoke to King Brihaddyumna, who was with his advisers. "See that this killer of a brahmana is not permitted to enter the sacrifice. There is no doubt that the mere glance of a killer of a brahmana will cause you injury." The servants seized Arvavasu and threw him out. He cried out repeatedly: "I am not the killer of a brahmana!" But the servants kept calling him the killer of a brahmana. They would not listen. They would not let him explain. He had observed the vow of killing a brahmana — but not for his own sake. He had done it for his brother. He had freed Paravasu from the sin. None of it mattered. He was cast out. But the gods had been watching. They had seen everything — Paravasu's lie, Arvavasu's sacrifice, the injustice of what had just happened. They were delighted at Arvavasu's deeds. With Agni, the god of fire, at their forefront, they instated Arvavasu as the priest. Paravasu was dismissed. Then the gods granted Arvavasu boons. He asked for three things: that his father might stand up alive again; that his brother might be freed from the sin of killing their father; and that both Bharadvaja and Yavakrita — two sages who had died in the events leading up to this — might rise up again. All of them manifested themselves again. The dead returned. The sin was lifted. The lie was undone.