Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 43
ऋक्षशृङ्ग उवाच । मां गृहीत्वा आश्रमं गच्छ यत्र तौ पितरौ मम । आवेदयस्व चात्मानं पुत्रघातिनमातुरम्
ṛkṣaśṛṅga uvāca | māṃ gṛhītvā āśramaṃ gaccha yatra tau pitarau mama | āvedayasva cātmānaṃ putraghātinamāturam
Ṛkṣaśṛṅga sprach: „Nimm mich mit dir und geh zum Āśrama, wo meine beiden Eltern sind. Dort offenbare dich—bekümmert und schuldig am Töten eines Sohnes—damit dir der Weg zur Besänftigung gezeigt werde.“
R̥kṣaśṛṅga
Tirtha: Āśrama of Ṛkṣaśṛṅga’s parents (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Citrasena
Scene: Ṛkṣaśṛṅga instructs the king to escort him to his parents’ hermitage and confess the grievous act; the sage’s gesture indicates the path through the forest toward the āśrama.
FAQs
When burdened by grave wrongdoing, one should seek refuge in dharmic elders and openly confess, so that a proper remedy (prāyaścitta) may be prescribed.
The verse is set within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred geography), though this specific line highlights an āśrama (hermitage) rather than naming a tīrtha.
No ritual is stated yet; the instruction is to approach the hermitage and report one’s condition, anticipating a prāyaścitta to be taught by the elders.