Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
ब्रह्मघ्नं च सुरापे च चौरे भग्नव ते शठे । निष्कृतिर्विहिता सद्भिः कृतघ्ने नास्ति निष्कृतिः
brahmaghnaṃ ca surāpe ca caure bhagnava te śaṭhe | niṣkṛtirvihitā sadbhiḥ kṛtaghne nāsti niṣkṛtiḥ
“Đối với kẻ sát hại Bà-la-môn, kẻ uống rượu, kẻ trộm, kẻ phá giới nguyện, và kẻ gian trá—các bậc hiền thiện đã đặt ra pháp sám hối. Nhưng đối với kẻ vô ơn, không có sự chuộc tội nào.”
Rājā (the King) — continuing speech
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame; not explicit here)
Scene: The king enumerates notorious sins—brahmahatyā, surāpāna, theft, vow-breaking, deceit—then points to ingratitude as beyond expiation; listeners appear sobered, heads bowed.
FAQs
Ingratitude is portrayed as a uniquely grave moral failing—worse than many named sins—because it violates the very foundation of dharma and social trust.
No single tīrtha is specified in this verse; it functions as a dharma-teaching embedded within the broader tīrtha narrative.
The verse refers generally to niṣkṛti/prāyaścitta (expiations) for various sins, but states none exists for kṛtaghna (ingratitude).