Pages

Pages

Hinduism - Who Is Considered A Mahapataka In A Hindu Society?


 ("Sinner Great") A person who has done one of the Four Great Crimes, namely murdering a brahmin (brahmahatya), stealing a brahmin's wealth (steya), consuming liquor (surapana), or engaging in adultery with one's guru's wife, according to dharma literature (guru talpaga).

These acts were so horrible that the perpetrator was ostracized from society.

Another indicator of the seriousness of these deeds was that their repercussions (prayashchitta) were so terrible that they usually resulted in death; in certain instances, death was directly ordered.

Apart from the real perpetrators, the dharma literature also imposed outcaste status for everyone who knowingly mingled with such individuals for more than a year.


You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.

Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.