Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 45
परवादरतानां च पापं यच्च दुरात्मनाम् । तेन पापेन लिप्यामि यद्यहं नागमे पुनः
paravādaratānāṃ ca pāpaṃ yacca durātmanām | tena pāpena lipyāmi yadyahaṃ nāgame punaḥ
إن لم أعد إلى هنا مرةً أخرى، فليلتصق بي الإثم—أيًّا كان—الذي يخصّ الأشرار الذين يلتذّون بالوقيعة في الناس؛ وبهذا الإثم عينه فليتدنّس كياني.
Unspecified (contextual vow/utterance within Arbuda Khaṇḍa narration; likely a pilgrim or narrator-voice within the māhātmya)
Tirtha: Arbuda-kshetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim at the tīrtha raises a hand in a vow of restraint. Around him, a group whispers and points (slander), depicted as dark, curling speech-lines; the pilgrim turns away toward the shrine, choosing silence and devotion.
FAQs
Purity of speech is essential; backbiting and fault-finding are condemned, and devotion is reinforced through a solemn vow tied to the tīrtha.
Arbuda-kṣetra is implicitly glorified as the sacred destination one vows to revisit.
No explicit ritual; the verse emphasizes ethical restraint (vāṅ-niyama) alongside pilgrimage commitment.