The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c21.49

v1.c21.49

and in both passages the commentator explains that the 'expiation for sin' may mean 'to remove the enmity of the murdered man's relatives,' which latter explanation is historically the earlier and probably the true explanation, as it is a parallel to the law permitting compensation for murder as found among other Āryan nations¹.