Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच । तथापि देव मे शुद्धिर्हृदयस्य न जायते । तस्माद्वद सुरश्रेष्ठ प्रायश्चित्तं विशुद्धये
yājñavalkya uvāca | tathāpi deva me śuddhirhṛdayasya na jāyate | tasmādvada suraśreṣṭha prāyaścittaṃ viśuddhaye
Yājñavalkya berkata: “Walau demikian, wahai Deva, kesucian di hatiku tidak juga terbit. Maka, wahai yang terbaik antara para dewa, beritahulah kepadaku prāyaścitta, penebusan dosa untuk penyucian yang sempurna.”
Yājñavalkya
Type: kshetra
Listener: (contextual) audience
Scene: Sage Yājñavalkya, austere and radiant, speaks with folded hands to a higher divine presence (Brahmā implied by next verse), expressing that his heart is not yet pure and requesting prāyaścitta.
FAQs
Outer acts are incomplete without inner transformation; true dharma seeks citta-śuddhi through right means.
The verse sets up the Tīrthamāhātmya context; the specific kṣetra is elaborated in the following verses of the same adhyāya.
A request is made for prāyaścitta (expiatory discipline); the concrete prescription is given immediately afterward (liṅga-sthāpanā).