Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55
प्रायश्चित्तं तु हास्येन यच्च स्मार्तैः प्रकीर्तितम् । विश्वावसोश्च संकल्पं वह्निसाधनसंभवम्
prāyaścittaṃ tu hāsyena yacca smārtaiḥ prakīrtitam | viśvāvasośca saṃkalpaṃ vahnisādhanasaṃbhavam
انہوں نے وہ پرایَشچِت بھی بتایا جسے سمارْت آچاریوں نے تمسخر کے ساتھ بیان کیا تھا، اور وِشواؤسو کے اس سنکلپ کا بھی ذکر کیا جو آگ کے سادھن سے پیدا ہوا تھا۔
Narrator (contextual)
Tirtha: Vāstupada
Type: kshetra
Scene: The narrators mention a Smārta expiation treated with derision and a resolve involving fire; the sage sits poised to judge; symbolic fire appears as a controlled ritual flame, not a conflagration.
FAQs
Ritual prescriptions can be disputed; therefore, right expiation should be grounded in authoritative discernment, not ridicule or hearsay.
The narrative is now anchored at Vāstupada, a place sought for resolving dharmic uncertainty.
Prāyaścitta is explicitly mentioned, including a fire-linked means (vahni-sādhana), though the exact procedure is not fully spelled out in this verse.