Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 36
ततो निवृत्तः शापाच्च तस्या वचनगौरवात् । तत्याज पादयोरंभः पादौ कल्मषतां गतौ
tato nivṛttaḥ śāpācca tasyā vacanagauravāt | tatyāja pādayoraṃbhaḥ pādau kalmaṣatāṃ gatau
அவளுடைய சொற்களின் மதிப்பால் அவன் சாபத்திலிருந்து விலகி, அந்த நீரைத் தன் கால்கள்மேல் சிந்தினான்; உடனே அவன் பாதங்கள் மாசடைந்தன।
Narrator (Purāṇic recounting)
Scene: The king lowers his hands; the cupped water spills onto his own feet. A visible darkening/taint symbolically spreads over the feet while the guru remains composed and Madayantī watches anxiously.
FAQs
Even when wrongdoing is halted, the momentum of anger can leave a residue; dharma requires inner purification, not only stopping the act.
No site is mentioned; the verse explains an etymological/narrative cause for the king’s later epithet.
The verse shows a ritual gesture: water held for a speech-act (curse) is released; here it falls on the feet, symbolically bearing the taint.