Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11
किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि कथं शुद्धिर्भवेन्मम । प्रायश्चित्तं करिष्यामि यद्यपि स्यात्सुदुष्करम्
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi kathaṃ śuddhirbhavenmama | prāyaścittaṃ kariṣyāmi yadyapi syātsuduṣkaram
“เราจะทำอย่างไร จะไปที่ใด? ความบริสุทธิ์จะเกิดแก่เราได้อย่างไร? เราจักทำปรायัศจิตต์ แม้จะยากยิ่งก็ตาม”
Repentant man (character within the story)
Scene: A solitary pilgrim at the edge of night, hands clasped in anxious resolve, asking where to go for purification; the road toward a sacred waterbody is hinted in the background.
FAQs
Dharma is upheld by resolve: when one falls, one must actively seek purification through prescribed means.
The question anticipates the answer given by the narrative: Śaṃkhatīrtha is approached for purification.
Prāyaścitta (expiation) is explicitly resolved upon, though details follow in subsequent verses.