Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 161
कीर्तनान्नश्यते धर्मो वर्धतेऽसौ निगूहनात् । इह लोके परे चैव पापस्याप्येवमेव च
kīrtanānnaśyate dharmo vardhate'sau nigūhanāt | iha loke pare caiva pāpasyāpyevameva ca
കീർത്തനം (പറയുന്നതിലൂടെ) ധർമ്മം നശിക്കുന്നു, മറച്ചുവെക്കുന്നതിലൂടെ അത് വളരുന്നു. ഇഹലോകത്തിലും പരലോകത്തിലും പാപത്തിന്റെ കാര്യവും ഇതുപോലെ തന്നെയാണ്.
Govinda’s wife (quoting a śāstric maxim attributed to maharṣis)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (Narmadā tīrthas)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A didactic moment: a speaker states a moral axiom—dharma is strengthened by being spoken; sin is strengthened by concealment—set against a tīrtha backdrop suggesting purification through truth.
FAQs
Truthful disclosure supports dharma and prevents the swelling of wrongdoing; concealment makes both merit and sin ‘grow’ in their respective consequences.
Though a general dharma maxim, it is taught within the Revā Khaṇḍa setting that exalts Revā tīrthas as places for purification and expiation.
Implicit prescription: confess and do not conceal pāpa—preparing the ground for prāyaścitta, often performed with tīrtha-snān and related vows.