Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7
ब्रह्महत्या सुरापानं स्तेयं गुर्वगनागमः । पातकानां गतिर्दृष्टा न तु विश्वासघातिनाम्
brahmahatyā surāpānaṃ steyaṃ gurvaganāgamaḥ | pātakānāṃ gatirdṛṣṭā na tu viśvāsaghātinām
Pour Brahmahatyā, pour l’ivresse du vin, pour le vol et pour la profanation du lit du maître, des voies d’expiation sont connues; mais pour les traîtres à la confiance, nulle voie n’est vue.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Scene: A didactic tableau: four dark personifications—Brahmahatyā, Surāpāna, Steya, Guru-talpa—stand with visible ‘paths’ of expiation shown as ritual roads; beside them a fifth figure ‘Viśvāsa-ghāta’ stands before a broken bridge/no path.
FAQs
Betrayal of trust is portrayed as uniquely corrosive to dharma—worse than even well-known grave sins—because it destroys the moral fabric of relationship and refuge.
No particular tīrtha is named; the focus is a dharma-principle relevant to all sacred geographies.
It implies that standard prāyaścittas exist for certain mahāpātakas, but denies an easy, formulaic expiation for betrayal of trust.