Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35
अत्र कात्यायनेनोक्तं यद्वचः सुमहात्मना । तच्छृण्वन्तु द्विजाः सर्वे प्रायश्चित्ती तथाप्ययम्
atra kātyāyanenoktaṃ yadvacaḥ sumahātmanā | tacchṛṇvantu dvijāḥ sarve prāyaścittī tathāpyayam
‘Di sini, kata-kata yang telah diucapkan oleh Kātyāyana yang berhati agung—biarlah semua kaum dwija mendengarnya. Namun demikian, bagi hal ini pun ada prāyaścitta, yakni penebusan dosa.’
Śāṇḍilya (quoted within Sūta’s narration)
Type: kshetra
Listener: sarve dvijāḥ (all twice-born present)
Scene: Śāṇḍilya shifts from rebuke to instruction, invoking Kātyāyana’s words; brāhmaṇas sit attentively as in a dharma-sabhā, palms joined, ready to hear prāyaścitta.
FAQs
Scriptural authority provides structured expiation; dharma offers remedies even for grave situations.
The passage proceeds to glorify Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā in this kṣetra as a direct means of purification.
Prāyaścitta (expiation) is explicitly introduced, with details enumerated in the following verses.