Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 45
आत्मा पुनाति पापानि यदि पापान्निवर्तते । एवमेव समाचारं प्रादुर्भूतं ततस्ततः
ātmā punāti pāpāni yadi pāpānnivartate | evameva samācāraṃ prādurbhūtaṃ tatastataḥ
જ્યારે મનુષ્ય પાપકર્મોથી પાછો વળે છે, ત્યારે આત્મા જ પાપોને શુદ્ધ કરે છે. આ રીતે સદાચાર સ્થાનસ્થાને વારંવાર પ્રગટ થયો છે.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)
Tirtha: Ātma-tīrtha (inner tīrtha)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A figure turns away from dark, chaotic imagery of vice toward a luminous path marked by footprints of dharma; multiple landscapes (village, forest, riverbank) show ‘right conduct’ arising everywhere.
FAQs
Real purification begins with stopping wrongdoing; inner reform is the core of dharma.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse universalizes purification through ethical restraint.
The ‘prescription’ is pāpa-nivṛtti—refraining from sin—presented as the decisive purifier.