Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36
ब्राह्मणा ऊचुः । बुध्यमानो द्विजो यस्तु मद्यपानं समाचरेत् । तावन्मात्रं हिरण्यं च तप्तं पीत्वा विशुध्यति
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ | budhyamāno dvijo yastu madyapānaṃ samācaret | tāvanmātraṃ hiraṇyaṃ ca taptaṃ pītvā viśudhyati
Les brāhmaṇas dirent : «Si un deux-fois-né, en pleine conscience, commet l’acte de boire la liqueur, il se purifie en buvant de l’or fondu et chauffé, en la même mesure.»
Brāhmaṇas
Type: kshetra
Listener: The penitent dvija (Parāvasu in subsequent verse)
Scene: A circle of brāhmaṇas pronounces a severe expiation: molten gold measured to the offense; the scene is symbolic, emphasizing gravity rather than literal gore.
FAQs
Knowingly violating dharma is treated as a grave fault, and purification is framed as difficult and stringent to deter wrongdoing.
This verse is within the Tīrthamāhātmya stream of Nāgara Khaṇḍa, but no particular tīrtha is named in this shloka itself.
A severe prāyaścitta is stated: drinking molten gold equal to the quantity of liquor consumed (as a textual expiation).