Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16
सूत उवाच । आहैवमुक्ते सा देवी शंकरं लोक शंकरम् । प्रायश्चित्तं कथं प्राप्तः पार्थः परपुरंजयः । ज्ञातिक्षयोद्भवं पापं कथं नाशमगात्प्रभो
sūta uvāca | āhaivamukte sā devī śaṃkaraṃ loka śaṃkaram | prāyaścittaṃ kathaṃ prāptaḥ pārthaḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ | jñātikṣayodbhavaṃ pāpaṃ kathaṃ nāśamagātprabho
قال سوتا: لما قيل ذلك، خاطبت الإلهةُ شانكرا (Śaṅkara) مُحسِنَ العوالم: «كيف نال بارثا (Pārtha)، قاهرَ مدائن الأعداء، كفّارةَ الذنب (prāyaścitta)؟ يا ربّ، كيف زال الإثمُ الناشئُ عن هلاك الأقارب؟»
Sūta
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame, implied)
Scene: A goddess respectfully questions Śaṅkara, ‘Lokasaṅkara’, about Arjuna’s expiation for the sin arising from the destruction of kinsmen; the setting evokes a sacred coastal kṣetra atmosphere.
FAQs
Puranic dharma frames even catastrophic war-guilt as addressable through sincere expiation, guided by divine authority and tīrtha power.
The question points back to Vṛṣa-tīrtha on Prācī’s bank in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where Arjuna’s expiation is said to occur.
Prāyaścitta (expiation) is the focus, with the narrative preparing to explain the method and its efficacy.