Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14
ब्राह्मणा ऊचुः । अज्ञानाज्ज्ञानतो वापि सुरां चेद्ब्राह्मणः पिबेत् । अग्निवर्णं घृतं पीत्वा तावन्मात्रंविशु ध्यति
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ | ajñānājjñānato vāpi surāṃ cedbrāhmaṇaḥ pibet | agnivarṇaṃ ghṛtaṃ pītvā tāvanmātraṃviśu dhyati
Die Brahmanen sprachen: „Ob aus Unwissenheit oder wissentlich: Trinkt ein Brahmane berauschenden Trank, so wird er gereinigt, wenn er Ghee (ghṛta) trinkt, bis zur Farbe des Feuers erhitzt—nur in diesem Maß.“
Brāhmaṇas (council of learned brāhmaṇas)
Scene: A council of brāhmaṇas pronounces an expiation: a brāhmaṇa who drank surā is to drink a measured quantity of ghee heated until it glows like fire; the atmosphere is austere, juridical, and purificatory.
FAQs
Dharma provides a path of restoration: even serious faults are met with defined expiation aimed at purification and moral reintegration.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it presents a dharmaśāstra-style expiation within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.
A prāyaścitta is prescribed: drinking ghee heated until it is “fire-colored” (agnivarṇaṃ ghṛtam), in the stated measure (“tāvanmātram”).