Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53
यद्येको घातयेत्तत्र सर्वे ते घातकाः स्मृताः । प्रायश्चित्ते व्यवसिते यदि कर्ता विपद्यते
yadyeko ghātayettatra sarve te ghātakāḥ smṛtāḥ | prāyaścitte vyavasite yadi kartā vipadyate
Se, entre eles, apenas um provoca a morte, todos são tidos como homicidas. E se, depois de estabelecida a expiação, aquele que a executaria vier a falecer…
Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual attribution within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A group of armed accomplices stands behind a single striker; a dharma-judge points to each, indicating shared guilt. In the next moment, a penitent collapses (death) while others look on anxiously, suggesting the urgency of completing expiation collectively.
FAQs
Participation in a harmful collective act binds all participants; moral responsibility is not escaped by delegating the final blow.
The narrative framework is Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, culminating in the saving power of Prabhāsa and Sarasvatī.
The verse refers to undertaking a decided prāyaścitta (expiation), preparing for the rule about what happens if the performer dies mid-course.