Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 156
कृमिभिर्वेष्टितं गान्त्रं क्वचित्पश्यत्यवेष्टितम् । पुनः सा विस्मयाविष्टा तस्य भार्या गुणान्विता । उवाच दुष्कृतं तस्य साध्वसाविष्टचेतसा
kṛmibhirveṣṭitaṃ gāntraṃ kvacitpaśyatyaveṣṭitam | punaḥ sā vismayāviṣṭā tasya bhāryā guṇānvitā | uvāca duṣkṛtaṃ tasya sādhvasāviṣṭacetasā
ചിലപ്പോൾ അവന്റെ ശരീരം പുഴുക്കൾ ചുറ്റിപ്പറ്റിയതായി അവൾ കണ്ടു; ചിലപ്പോൾ ചുറ്റാത്തതായും. അപ്പോൾ ഗുണവതിയായ ഭാര്യ അത്ഭുതവും ഭയവും നിറഞ്ഞ മനസ്സോടെ അവന്റെ ദുഷ്കൃത്യം പറഞ്ഞു.
Sūta (deduced) describing the wife’s observation and impending speech
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed in surrounding frame)
Scene: Midnight vision: the wife sees her husband’s body alternately swarmed by worms and then clear, as if a karmic illusion; she recoils in astonishment and fear, then steadies herself to speak.
FAQs
Sin (duṣkṛta) bears visible and invisible consequences; concealment cannot prevent its fruits from manifesting.
The story’s setting remains the Revā–Eraṇḍī Saṅgama tīrtha-mahātmya, though this verse focuses on karmic effects.
No direct prescription; it foreshadows the need for confession and prāyaścitta (expiation).