Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15
ततः संचिन्त्य सुचिरं स्मृतिशास्त्राण्यनेकशः । प्रायश्चित्तं ददौ तेषां सर्वेषां स द्विजन्मनाम्
tataḥ saṃcintya suciraṃ smṛtiśāstrāṇyanekaśaḥ | prāyaścittaṃ dadau teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ sa dvijanmanām
แล้วเขาจึงใคร่ครวญเนิ่นนาน และพิจารณาคัมภีร์สมฤติหลายประการซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า ก่อนจะกำหนดประโยคแห่งการไถ่บาป (ปรायัศจิตตะ) ให้แก่ทวิชทั้งปวง
Unspecified narrator (within the chapter’s narrative flow)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A learned Brahmin/sage sits with palm-leaf manuscripts, contemplating; around him, anxious dvijas await. He then announces expiations, bringing relief and order.
FAQs
Purification is not arbitrary; it is guided by śāstra and careful discernment, even within a Purāṇic tīrtha narrative.
The broader setting is a tīrtha within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the verse focuses on prescribing expiation rather than naming the site.
Prāyaścitta is prescribed generally here; specific forms (like Cāndrāyaṇa, homa, etc.) appear in the next verses.