Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46
अन्यथा यो वदेत्पृष्टः प्रायाश्चित्तं स्वच्छन्द तः । तस्य पापस्य भागी स्याद्यथा कर्ता तथैव सः
anyathā yo vadetpṛṣṭaḥ prāyāścittaṃ svacchanda taḥ | tasya pāpasya bhāgī syādyathā kartā tathaiva saḥ
Wenn aber jemand, gefragt, eine Sühne (prāyaścitta) falsch festsetzt, nur nach eigenem Gutdünken, dann wird er Teilhaber jener Sünde, ebenso wie der eigentliche Täter.
Brāhmaṇa (advisor/teacher figure in the dialogue)
Tirtha: Tiṃginī (contextual tīrtha under discussion)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sāmba (Yādava)
Scene: A cautionary teaching scene: the brāhmaṇa raises a finger in admonition, while a secondary figure (a presumptuous advisor) is shown in shadow, symbolizing ‘svacchanda’ (whim) and karmic consequence.
FAQs
Religious counsel must be truthful and scripturally responsible; wrong guidance in expiation makes the adviser share the moral burden.
This verse functions as a dharma-warning within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; the specific tīrtha is elaborated in the surrounding Tiṃginī-related passage.
It cautions against arbitrarily prescribing prāyaścitta (atonement), implying expiation must match the fault and be given properly.