Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 143
आकाशवाणीं श्रृण्वंश्च किं स्कन्द त्वं विषीदसी । पश्चात्तापो यदि भवेत्कृत्वा ब्रह्मवधं त्वयि
ākāśavāṇīṃ śrṛṇvaṃśca kiṃ skanda tvaṃ viṣīdasī | paścāttāpo yadi bhavetkṛtvā brahmavadhaṃ tvayi
“Dẫu đã nghe tiếng thiêng từ hư không, sao ngươi còn sầu muộn, hỡi Skanda? Nếu lòng hối hận đã khởi lên nơi ngươi sau khi phạm tội sát hại Bà-la-môn, (hãy biến sự ăn năn ấy thành sự sám hối chuộc tội).”
Ākāśavāṇī (divine voice; narrative frame within Māheśvara-khaṇḍa commonly relayed by Sūta to sages)
Listener: Skanda
Scene: Skanda stands troubled, head slightly bowed, weapon lowered. From the sky, an unseen voice manifests as radiant script or a beam of light. Companions look upward; the atmosphere is hushed, charged with moral gravity.
FAQs
Remorse for wrongdoing should mature into conscious prāyaścitta (atonement) rather than despair.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the dharmic principle of expiation within the Kaumārikā narrative.
This verse itself does not prescribe a ritual; it introduces repentance as the trigger for expiatory action described in the surrounding verses.