Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40
केतक्या च तथा प्रोक्तं यस्मात्तस्मात्सुदुष्टया । अस्या हि स्पर्शनाल्लोकः श्वपाकत्वं प्रयास्यति
ketakyā ca tathā proktaṃ yasmāttasmātsuduṣṭayā | asyā hi sparśanāllokaḥ śvapākatvaṃ prayāsyati
Und weil auch die Ketakī so sprach, in höchster Bosheit, werden die Menschen schon durch bloße Berührung mit ihr in den Zustand eines śvapāka (Ausgestoßener, Kastenloser) fallen.
Śiva
Listener: Ketakī (implied) and the narrative audience
Scene: Ketakī is singled out as ‘suduṣṭā’; the curse renders her touch socially polluting (śvapākatva), creating a strong taboo image.
FAQs
False witness corrupts sanctity; participation in untruth brings lasting ritual and moral consequences.
No tīrtha is named in this line; it provides an etiological rule relevant to Śaiva ritual culture.
An implied prohibition/avoidance: Ketakī becomes ritually inauspicious to touch (and, by extension, unsuitable in sacred contexts).