Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 59
प्रायश्चित्तेन शांतिः स्यान्महापातकपंचके । पितुर्ब्राह्मणहंतुस्तु सुतरां नास्ति निष्कृतिः
prāyaścittena śāṃtiḥ syānmahāpātakapaṃcake | piturbrāhmaṇahaṃtustu sutarāṃ nāsti niṣkṛtiḥ
«Par des rites d’expiation, on peut obtenir l’apaisement pour les cinq grands péchés ; mais pour celui qui tue le père d’un brāhmaṇa, à plus forte raison, il n’est point de véritable rémission.»
Tridaśāḥ (the gods)
Tirtha: Setukṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A didactic tableau: the devas enumerate the five great sins and then emphasize the special inexpiability of killing a brāhmaṇa’s father; Arvāvasu’s hope dims into grief.
FAQs
Some acts are portrayed as so destructive to dharma that ordinary expiations are declared insufficient.
Implicitly the narrative is moving toward Setu tīrthas that are famed for removing even the heaviest sins.
Prāyaścitta is affirmed for major sins generally, but a special case is marked as beyond ordinary niṣkṛti.
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