Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
ब्रह्मघ्नं च सुरापे च चौरे भग्नव ते शठे । निष्कृतिर्विहिता सद्भिः कृतघ्ने नास्ति निष्कृतिः
brahmaghnaṃ ca surāpe ca caure bhagnava te śaṭhe | niṣkṛtirvihitā sadbhiḥ kṛtaghne nāsti niṣkṛtiḥ
ব্রাহ্মণহন্তা, সুরাপায়ী, চোর, ব্রতভঙ্গকারী ও শঠ—এদের জন্য সজ্জনরা প্রায়শ্চিত্ত বিধান করেছেন; কিন্তু কৃতঘ্নের জন্য কোনো প্রায়শ্চিত্ত নেই।
Rājā (the King) — continuing speech
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame; not explicit here)
Scene: The king enumerates notorious sins—brahmahatyā, surāpāna, theft, vow-breaking, deceit—then points to ingratitude as beyond expiation; listeners appear sobered, heads bowed.
FAQs
Ingratitude is portrayed as a uniquely grave moral failing—worse than many named sins—because it violates the very foundation of dharma and social trust.
No single tīrtha is specified in this verse; it functions as a dharma-teaching embedded within the broader tīrtha narrative.
The verse refers generally to niṣkṛti/prāyaścitta (expiations) for various sins, but states none exists for kṛtaghna (ingratitude).