Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23
इतोप्यूर्ध्वं न संस्कार्याः पतिता धर्मवर्जिताः । व्रात्यस्तोमेन यज्ञेन तत्पातित्यं परिव्रजेत्
itopyūrdhvaṃ na saṃskāryāḥ patitā dharmavarjitāḥ | vrātyastomena yajñena tatpātityaṃ parivrajet
Au-delà de ces limites, ils ne doivent plus recevoir le saṃskāra de l’initiation ; ils deviennent patita, exclus du dharma. Par le sacrifice nommé Vrātyastoma, cet état de chute peut être effacé.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame; not stated in verse)
Scene: A Vedic assembly in Kāśī: a learned ācārya instructs a remorseful vrātya/patita about Vrātyastoma; sacred fires, ladles, and ritual vessels are arranged, with the Ganga and ghats faintly in the background.
FAQs
Neglect of sacred duties has consequences, yet dharma also provides restorative rites for return to discipline.
The verse sits within Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s dharma-instructions; it is not a direct tirtha-glorification line.
Vrātyastoma yajña is stated as the means to remove the condition of being ‘vrātya’/fallen due to lapse.