Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 67
सर्वपापाधिकं पापं बालहत्या द्विजोत्तम । बालहत्यायुतो विप्रः पच्यते नरके ध्रुवम्
sarvapāpādhikaṃ pāpaṃ bālahatyā dvijottama | bālahatyāyuto vipraḥ pacyate narake dhruvam
بچوں کا قتل تمام گناہوں سے بڑھ کر گناہ ہے، اے بہترینِ دوج۔ بچوں کے قتل سے آلودہ برہمن یقیناً جہنم میں جلتا ہے۔
Unspecified narrator within Revā Khaṇḍa (ethical injunction addressed to a dvija)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra tīrthas (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A stern dharma proclamation: the sage addresses ‘dvijottama’ and depicts the inevitability of naraka for bāla-hatyā, with imagery of hellfire ‘cooking’ as a moral deterrent.
FAQs
Ahiṃsā is foundational; harming the helpless (especially children) is presented as an extreme adharma with severe karmic retribution.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse is part of Revā Khaṇḍa’s broader dharma instruction within the Narmadā sacred geography.
No explicit ritual is stated; the verse functions as a strict prohibition and moral warning.