Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 45
परवादरतानां च पापं यच्च दुरात्मनाम् । तेन पापेन लिप्यामि यद्यहं नागमे पुनः
paravādaratānāṃ ca pāpaṃ yacca durātmanām | tena pāpena lipyāmi yadyahaṃ nāgame punaḥ
Если я не приду сюда вновь, да запятнаюсь я грехом — каким бы он ни был — злодеев, что наслаждаются клеветой на других; тем самым грехом да буду я осквернён.
Unspecified (contextual vow/utterance within Arbuda Khaṇḍa narration; likely a pilgrim or narrator-voice within the māhātmya)
Tirtha: Arbuda-kshetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim at the tīrtha raises a hand in a vow of restraint. Around him, a group whispers and points (slander), depicted as dark, curling speech-lines; the pilgrim turns away toward the shrine, choosing silence and devotion.
FAQs
Purity of speech is essential; backbiting and fault-finding are condemned, and devotion is reinforced through a solemn vow tied to the tīrtha.
Arbuda-kṣetra is implicitly glorified as the sacred destination one vows to revisit.
No explicit ritual; the verse emphasizes ethical restraint (vāṅ-niyama) alongside pilgrimage commitment.