Shloka 323
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
कथमसम्मिंश्व तीर्थे वै आप्लुत्याकल्मषो5भवत् | जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन! भगवान् इन्द्रको ब्रह्महत्याका पाप कैसे लगा तथा वे किस प्रकार इस तीर्थमें स्नान करके पापमुक्त हुए थे?
janamejaya uvāca | katham asmin tīrthe vai āplutya akalmaṣo 'bhavat |
قال جناميجايا: «كيف صار بعد اغتساله في هذا التيرثا المقدّس بريئًا من الدنس؟ أيها البراهمن، كيف لحق بالإندرا المبارك إثم “براهمهاتيا”، وبأيّ وجه تحرّر من تلك التبعة باغتساله في هذا التيرثا؟»
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the mightiest can incur grave moral taint through wrongful acts; purification requires acknowledgement of fault and recourse to dharmic means of expiation—here symbolized by the sanctifying power of a tīrtha and the discipline of ritual atonement.
King Janamejaya asks the narrating Brāhmaṇa-sage to explain a specific tradition: how Indra came to bear the guilt of brahmahatyā and how, by bathing at a particular sacred tīrtha, he became free from that impurity.