Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
अज्ञानाज्ज्ञानतोवापि यत्पापं कुरुते नरः । ब्रह्महत्यादिकं चापि स्त्रीवधाद्वापि यद्भवेत्
ajñānājjñānatovāpi yatpāpaṃ kurute naraḥ | brahmahatyādikaṃ cāpi strīvadhādvāpi yadbhavet
Qu’un homme commette un péché par ignorance ou même en pleine connaissance—qu’il s’agisse du meurtre d’un brāhmaṇa et autres fautes semblables, ou même du meurtre d’une femme—quelle que soit la culpabilité qui en naisse ;
Brahmā (contextual continuation)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yājñavalkya
Scene: A didactic tableau: the speaker enumerates sins; shadowy figures representing transgressions fade as a luminous Śiva-symbol (liṅga/temple) appears, indicating the coming remedy.
FAQs
Pāpa binds whether done knowingly or in ignorance; therefore dharma provides purificatory paths rooted in devotion and sacred place-merit.
The verse introduces the scope of sins addressed; the kṣetra praised for destroying such faults is specified in the subsequent verses.
No separate rite is named here; it frames the kinds of pāpa that the next instruction (liṅga-sthāpanā in a holy kṣetra) is said to remove.