Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11
किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि कथं शुद्धिर्भवेन्मम । प्रायश्चित्तं करिष्यामि यद्यपि स्यात्सुदुष्करम्
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi kathaṃ śuddhirbhavenmama | prāyaścittaṃ kariṣyāmi yadyapi syātsuduṣkaram
„Was soll ich tun, wohin soll ich gehen? Wie kann Reinheit zu mir gelangen? Ich werde Prāyaścitta, die Sühne, vollziehen, auch wenn sie überaus schwer ist.“
Repentant man (character within the story)
Scene: A solitary pilgrim at the edge of night, hands clasped in anxious resolve, asking where to go for purification; the road toward a sacred waterbody is hinted in the background.
FAQs
Dharma is upheld by resolve: when one falls, one must actively seek purification through prescribed means.
The question anticipates the answer given by the narrative: Śaṃkhatīrtha is approached for purification.
Prāyaścitta (expiation) is explicitly resolved upon, though details follow in subsequent verses.