Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29
प्रायश्चित्तं मम स्वामिन्देहि सर्वमशेषतः । यन्नरस्य समायोगे परस्याह प्रजापतिः
prāyaścittaṃ mama svāmindehi sarvamaśeṣataḥ | yannarasya samāyoge parasyāha prajāpatiḥ
«Ô mon seigneur, accorde-moi l’expiation (prāyaścitta) en entier, sans rien omettre, telle que Prajāpati l’a prescrite pour celui qui s’unit indûment à l’épouse d’autrui.»
The woman/petitioner (addressing Gautama Ṛṣi)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A direct plea: the woman, hands folded, addresses Gautama as ‘svāmin’, requesting full atonement; the scene is didactic—teacher and supplicant—framed by hermitage austerity.
FAQs
Dharma is upheld by acknowledging wrongdoing and seeking a complete, tradition-rooted prāyaścitta rather than minimizing the fault.
Not a single site is named in this verse; it frames the ethical need for purification that will be fulfilled through vows and tīrtha-journeying.
The verse requests prāyaścitta generally and cites Prajāpati’s rule; the specific rites are enumerated by Gautama in the following verses.