Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17
मातापितरावूचतुः । एकः पापानि कुरुते फलं भुंक्ते महा जनः । भोक्तारो विप्रमुच्यंते कर्ता दोषेण लिप्यते
mātāpitarāvūcatuḥ | ekaḥ pāpāni kurute phalaṃ bhuṃkte mahā janaḥ | bhoktāro vipramucyaṃte kartā doṣeṇa lipyate
والدین نے کہا: “ایک شخص گناہ کرتا ہے، مگر اس کا پھل کوئی اور—کوئی ‘بڑا آدمی’—بھگتتا ہے۔ جو صرف فائدہ کھاتے ہیں وہ چھوٹ سکتے ہیں، مگر کرنے والا قصور سے آلودہ ہوتا ہے۔”
Parents (mātā-pitarau)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Their son (the in-story questioner)
Scene: The parents, calm and authoritative, explain karmic mechanics: the doer is stained, while the consumer of gains may be released; the son listens, troubled.
FAQs
Moral responsibility (kartṛtva) matters: even if others enjoy the profit, the one who commits wrongdoing accrues the दोष (fault) and karmic stain.
The broader context is Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya (Prabhāsa region), though this verse itself focuses on ethical karma rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it is an ethical teaching on karma, agency, and culpability.