Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46
अन्यथा यो वदेत्पृष्टः प्रायाश्चित्तं स्वच्छन्द तः । तस्य पापस्य भागी स्याद्यथा कर्ता तथैव सः
anyathā yo vadetpṛṣṭaḥ prāyāścittaṃ svacchanda taḥ | tasya pāpasya bhāgī syādyathā kartā tathaiva saḥ
Jika apabila ditanya seseorang menetapkan prāyaścitta (penebusan dosa) secara salah, semata-mata menurut kehendaknya sendiri, maka dia menjadi penanggung bahagian dosa itu, sama seperti pelaku kesalahan tersebut.
Brāhmaṇa (advisor/teacher figure in the dialogue)
Tirtha: Tiṃginī (contextual tīrtha under discussion)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sāmba (Yādava)
Scene: A cautionary teaching scene: the brāhmaṇa raises a finger in admonition, while a secondary figure (a presumptuous advisor) is shown in shadow, symbolizing ‘svacchanda’ (whim) and karmic consequence.
FAQs
Religious counsel must be truthful and scripturally responsible; wrong guidance in expiation makes the adviser share the moral burden.
This verse functions as a dharma-warning within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; the specific tīrtha is elaborated in the surrounding Tiṃginī-related passage.
It cautions against arbitrarily prescribing prāyaścitta (atonement), implying expiation must match the fault and be given properly.