If we hurt (physically or emotionally) someone , we absorb bad karma in us. How to do repentance for it to get rid of that sin ?
Is it best to seek forgiveness from the person directly or should we do the repentance alone ? In case it is not possible to seek forgiveness , how to do repentance to get rid of that sin ?
In case , the person forgives us , do we get rid of the sin ? Or Do we have to bear thee fruit of the bad karma , even if the person forgives us ?
Manu Smriti 11.227. By confession, by repentance, by austerity, and by reciting (the Veda) a sinner is freed from guilt, and in case no other course is possible, by liberality
11.228. In proportion as a man who has done wrong, himself confesses it, even so far he is freed from guilt, as a snake from its slough.
11.229. In proportion as his heart loathes his evil deed, even so far is his body freed from that guilt.
Although repentance is a valid mode for getting rid of sins there are no definite guidelines on how to repent. The feeling should be sincere and coming from one's heart with the genuine feeling of being sorry for whatever bad deeds one had done in the past. The more sad one feels for their bad deeds more sins are cleared off thereby.
One more reference:
Surely, a fat, unruly, fierce, and bellowing bull, attacking creatures and saying what he pleases, does not reach the gods. It is the tiny ones with emaciated bodies who reach there.
32 At various times in his youth a man may have foolishly done all sorts of good or evil deeds. If, however, in his later years he leads a virtuous life, only that will follow him, not the acts of his youth.
33 Leading an austere and vigilant life, let him always grieve in his heart when he recalls his misdeeds. He will thus be freed from those sins.
Dharmasutras of Baudhayana 1.11.7.31-33
In case , the person forgives us , do we get rid of the sin ?
27 If a man extinguishes his sacred fires, he should perform an arduous penance for twelve days and have the rite of establishing the sacred fires carried out over again.
28 If someone falsely accuses an elder of his, he should bathe with his clothes on and seek forgiveness from that elder. ‘He becomes pure’, it is stated, ‘by his forgiveness.’
Dharmasutras of Vashishta 21.27,28
So, seemingly it is certainly possible to become sin free if he has been forgiven but it might also depend on the particular sins one has committed. So, IMO answering generally might not be possible.
