Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 143
आकाशवाणीं श्रृण्वंश्च किं स्कन्द त्वं विषीदसी । पश्चात्तापो यदि भवेत्कृत्वा ब्रह्मवधं त्वयि
ākāśavāṇīṃ śrṛṇvaṃśca kiṃ skanda tvaṃ viṣīdasī | paścāttāpo yadi bhavetkṛtvā brahmavadhaṃ tvayi
«Même après avoir entendu la voix divine venue du ciel, pourquoi t’attristes-tu, ô Skanda ? Si le remords s’est levé en toi après le péché d’avoir tué un brahmane, (que ce repentir devienne expiation).»
Ākāśavāṇī (divine voice; narrative frame within Māheśvara-khaṇḍa commonly relayed by Sūta to sages)
Listener: Skanda
Scene: Skanda stands troubled, head slightly bowed, weapon lowered. From the sky, an unseen voice manifests as radiant script or a beam of light. Companions look upward; the atmosphere is hushed, charged with moral gravity.
FAQs
Remorse for wrongdoing should mature into conscious prāyaścitta (atonement) rather than despair.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the dharmic principle of expiation within the Kaumārikā narrative.
This verse itself does not prescribe a ritual; it introduces repentance as the trigger for expiatory action described in the surrounding verses.