Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 61
सत्याद्वापि स विज्ञेयो महापातककारकः । युष्मद्भीत्या समायाताः स्वर्गिणः शरणं मम
satyādvāpi sa vijñeyo mahāpātakakārakaḥ | yuṣmadbhītyā samāyātāḥ svargiṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama
Même si c’était au nom de la vérité, un tel homme doit être reconnu comme auteur d’un grand péché, s’il délaisse ceux qui, effrayés par vous, sont venus chercher refuge auprès de moi, fussent-ils des habitants du ciel.
Samudra (Sāgara), lord of rivers
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārvatī
Scene: A solemn pronouncement: the speaker declares ‘mahāpātaka’ while pointing toward trembling celestial beings seeking shelter; brāhmaṇas listen, the sea and sky meeting behind them.
FAQs
No moral pretext—even ‘truth’ as an excuse—justifies betraying the duty to protect those who have sought refuge.
Prabhāsakṣetra, where narratives teach that refuge-dharma sustains cosmic order.
None; the focus is on defining grave sin (mahāpātaka) in relation to śaraṇāgata-dharma.