Shloka 426
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
अत्राप्लुत्य सुघोरात् त्वं पातकाद् विप्रमोक्ष्यसे । देवेन्द्र! सरस्वती और अरुणाका यह संगम महान् पुण्यदायक तीर्थ है। तुम यहाँ यज्ञ करो और अनेक प्रकारके दान दो। फिर उसमें स्नान करके तुम भयानक पातकसे मुक्त हो जाओगे'
atra āplutya sughorāt tvaṁ pātakād vipramokṣyase | devendra! sarasvatyā aruṇākāyāś ca ayaṁ saṅgamo mahān puṇyadāyaka tīrthaḥ | tvaṁ iha yajñaṁ kuru anekaprakāraṁ ca dānaṁ dehi | tataḥ tatra snātvā tvaṁ bhayānakāt pātakāt mukto bhaviṣyasi ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “By bathing here, you will be released from a most dreadful sin. O Devendra, this confluence of the Sarasvatī and the Aruṇākā is a great, merit-bestowing sacred ford. Perform sacrifice here and give gifts of many kinds; then, after bathing in it, you will be freed from the terrifying stain of wrongdoing.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grave moral fault (pātaka) is addressed through a dharmic program of atonement: approach a sacred tīrtha, perform yajña (ritual responsibility) and dāna (social-ethical generosity), and purify oneself through snāna—linking inner reform with outward acts that restore order and merit.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a powerful pilgrimage site—the confluence of the Sarasvatī and Aruṇākā—and instructs Devendra (Indra) that by performing sacrifice, giving varied gifts, and bathing there, he will be freed from a terrifying sin.