कार्तिक्यां परदारोत्थैः स विमुच्येत पातकैः । एषां युगत्रये शुद्धिरासीत्तत्र द्विजन्मनाम्
kārtikyāṃ paradārotthaiḥ sa vimucyeta pātakaiḥ | eṣāṃ yugatraye śuddhirāsīttatra dvijanmanām
En el mes de Kārttika, queda liberado de los pecados nacidos de la mujer ajena (adulterio). Para estos nacidos dos veces, en las tres yugas, hubo allí pureza en ese tīrtha.
Sūta (continuing narration)
Tirtha: Kuṇḍa/tīrtha of Kārttika prāyaścitta (name not stated)
Type: kund
Listener: Dvija-sattamāḥ addressed
Scene: Kārttika dawn at the kuṇḍa: pilgrims with lamps (dīpa) and tulasī/flowers (generic), performing snāna with solemn repentance; the atmosphere is austere, emphasizing moral purification.
Kārttika observance at a powerful tīrtha is upheld as a strong remedy even for grave moral transgressions.
The same tīrtha/kuṇḍa of Adhyāya 113, especially potent when approached in Kārttika.
Kārttika-time practice centered on snāna at the tīrtha, framed as a prāyaścitta for certain sins.