Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40
केतक्या च तथा प्रोक्तं यस्मात्तस्मात्सुदुष्टया । अस्या हि स्पर्शनाल्लोकः श्वपाकत्वं प्रयास्यति
ketakyā ca tathā proktaṃ yasmāttasmātsuduṣṭayā | asyā hi sparśanāllokaḥ śvapākatvaṃ prayāsyati
Et puisque la Ketakī aussi a parlé ainsi, d’une méchanceté extrême, alors, pour l’avoir seulement touchée, les gens tomberont dans l’état de śvapāka (paria, hors caste).
Śiva
Listener: Ketakī (implied) and the narrative audience
Scene: Ketakī is singled out as ‘suduṣṭā’; the curse renders her touch socially polluting (śvapākatva), creating a strong taboo image.
FAQs
False witness corrupts sanctity; participation in untruth brings lasting ritual and moral consequences.
No tīrtha is named in this line; it provides an etiological rule relevant to Śaiva ritual culture.
An implied prohibition/avoidance: Ketakī becomes ritually inauspicious to touch (and, by extension, unsuitable in sacred contexts).