Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 5
पंचाननोऽपि वसते पंचपातकनाशनः । तदेतत्तीर्थमागत्य स्नात्वा वै श्रद्धया सह । पुरंदरः पुरा विप्रा मुमुचे ब्रह्महत्यया
paṃcānano'pi vasate paṃcapātakanāśanaḥ | tadetattīrthamāgatya snātvā vai śraddhayā saha | puraṃdaraḥ purā viprā mumuce brahmahatyayā
Ici demeure aussi Pañcānana, destructeur des cinq grands péchés. Étant venu à ce tīrtha même et s’y étant baigné avec foi, Purandara (Indra) jadis, ô brāhmaṇa, fut délivré du péché de brahmicide.
Sūta (contextual continuation)
Tirtha: Sītā-saras (Pañcānana-sannidhya tīrtha)
Type: kund
Listener: Brāhmaṇas (explicit: ‘viprāḥ’)
Scene: On the bank of Sītā-saras, Śiva as Pañcānana is envisioned presiding; Indra (Purandara) performs a reverent bath and is freed from the dark stain of brahmahatyā, shown as a shadow dissolving into the water.
FAQs
Faithful bathing at an exalted tīrtha, sanctified by Śiva’s presence, is portrayed as a powerful means of release even from grave sins.
The tīrtha in the Sītā-saras/Setu context, declared pañca-pātaka-nāśana and connected with Indra’s purification.
To come to the tīrtha and perform snāna ‘with śraddhā’ (with faith), as a prāyaścitta-like act.