Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53
यद्येको घातयेत्तत्र सर्वे ते घातकाः स्मृताः । प्रायश्चित्ते व्यवसिते यदि कर्ता विपद्यते
yadyeko ghātayettatra sarve te ghātakāḥ smṛtāḥ | prāyaścitte vyavasite yadi kartā vipadyate
Wenn unter ihnen nur einer die Tötung veranlasst, gelten dennoch alle als Täter. Und wenn, nachdem die Sühne festgesetzt wurde, derjenige, der sie vollziehen sollte, stirbt…
Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual attribution within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A group of armed accomplices stands behind a single striker; a dharma-judge points to each, indicating shared guilt. In the next moment, a penitent collapses (death) while others look on anxiously, suggesting the urgency of completing expiation collectively.
FAQs
Participation in a harmful collective act binds all participants; moral responsibility is not escaped by delegating the final blow.
The narrative framework is Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, culminating in the saving power of Prabhāsa and Sarasvatī.
The verse refers to undertaking a decided prāyaścitta (expiation), preparing for the rule about what happens if the performer dies mid-course.