Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16
सूत उवाच । आहैवमुक्ते सा देवी शंकरं लोक शंकरम् । प्रायश्चित्तं कथं प्राप्तः पार्थः परपुरंजयः । ज्ञातिक्षयोद्भवं पापं कथं नाशमगात्प्रभो
sūta uvāca | āhaivamukte sā devī śaṃkaraṃ loka śaṃkaram | prāyaścittaṃ kathaṃ prāptaḥ pārthaḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ | jñātikṣayodbhavaṃ pāpaṃ kathaṃ nāśamagātprabho
സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ ദേവി ലോകഹിതകാരിയായ ശങ്കരനോടു ചോദിച്ചു—“പ്രഭോ! പരപുരഞ്ജയനായ പാർഥൻ പ്രായശ്ചിത്തം എങ്ങനെ പ്രാപിച്ചു? ജ്ഞാതിക്ഷയത്തിൽ നിന്നുയർന്ന പാപം എങ്ങനെ നശിച്ചു?”
Sūta
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame, implied)
Scene: A goddess respectfully questions Śaṅkara, ‘Lokasaṅkara’, about Arjuna’s expiation for the sin arising from the destruction of kinsmen; the setting evokes a sacred coastal kṣetra atmosphere.
FAQs
Puranic dharma frames even catastrophic war-guilt as addressable through sincere expiation, guided by divine authority and tīrtha power.
The question points back to Vṛṣa-tīrtha on Prācī’s bank in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where Arjuna’s expiation is said to occur.
Prāyaścitta (expiation) is the focus, with the narrative preparing to explain the method and its efficacy.