Skandapurana 5.161

Sūta said:
When the name of that radiant Sun was thus established,
Puṣpa related his deeds in the presence of the twice-born:

His own vile deeds, how the slaying of Maṇibhadra was performed,
and how his wife was appropriated entirely by deception.

Then those brahmins, hearing that, filled with anger,
making frequent hissing sounds [of dismay, said]: “Fie on you, sinner! Go away!

Take your gold; there will be no purification for you.

For you are the killer of a brahmin, since the three varṇas are declared
to be twice-born, O best of brahmins—brahmin, kṣatriya, and vaiśya—by the expounders of the smṛti treatises.”

Sūta said:
Then, grieving, with eyes flooded with tears,
Puṣpa departed from the assembly of brahmins and wept in deep sorrow.

Seeing him weeping profusely, those Nāgara brahmins,
taking great pity, then said to one another:

“Examine attentively the various treatises of sacred law, the diverse smṛtis,
and all the Purāṇas.

See whether somewhere, in some way, purification exists for him.
There is no sacred treatise that does not exist in this place;
no smṛti, no Purāṇa, or Vedānta, O best of the twice-born;
and there is no brahmin here who does not resemble an omniscient one.
Therefore, reflect quickly on that which will grant him purification,

and having established that as an authoritative means, let purification be granted to him.”

Then one brahmin, celebrated as Caṇḍaśarman, said:
“In this Skandapurāṇa, concerning the preparatory rite,

the seventh lunar day named Puraścaraṇa has been studied by me,
by which a committed sin goes away through the preparatory rite.

Even so, completely, O best of the brahmins, it departs from that; there is no doubt.
Therefore, let him observe that Puraścaraṇasaptamī.

Furthermore, Maṇibhadra was struck down by order of the king
by the executioners; that sin belongs to him, if any sin is produced.

When one becomes a king and does not properly judge a disputant,
that terrible sin belongs to that king alone.

Likewise, the sin of his wife, who knew what was said by her:
‘He was given by my father in the presence of brahmins and fire formerly.’

And by this deceived man, retaliation was merely made for what was done.
Therefore, no fault should attach to him, since it has been declared by the best of sages:

‘One should do retaliation for an act done, and counter-violence against violence;
no fault is incurred by him who behaves wickedly toward a wicked person.’ ”

The brahmins said:
“If it is so, tell him now, O vipra, best of brahmins, of that seventh lunar day
named Puraścaraṇa, for the purification of that wretched man.”

Sūta said:
Then he who was named Caṇḍaśarman related that seventh lunar day to him, O best of the twice-born,
having taken pity upon him.

It was duly observed by him just as heard from his mouth;
then, at the end of a year, he became free from sin.

The ṛṣis said:
Speak, O son of Sūta, of that seventh lunar day named Puraścaraṇa:
by what rite should it be performed, and when the time has arrived?

Sūta said: / I shall narrate to you [that which was] spoken of old to King Rohitāśva / by Mārkaṇḍeya, when asked with devotion.

O brahmins, that great sage named Mārkaṇḍa, who remembers seven cosmic ages, / was asked by Rohitāśva, the son of Hariścandra.

Rohitāśva said: / Whatever sin a man commits, whether unknowingly or knowingly, / tell me some means for its destruction, O virtuous sage.

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Mental, vocal, and thirdly bodily— / threefold is the sin that arises here among men in the world.

The means for its destruction are fully proclaimed there; / I shall declare them to you; listen, O best of kings.

As for mental sin that arises here among men, / when repentance is made for it, it is destroyed that very instant.

And vocal sin is not destroyed without being experienced, / except by a preparatory rite; this truth has been uttered by me.

Having reported it to the foremost of brahmins, one should perform what they direct; / through the expiation as prescribed, one then attains purification.

Or, if the earthly king learns of it and inflicts punishment upon him, / through that he attains purification, even though he may be a sinner.

He who out of shame never speaks of it to the foremost of brahmins, / nor does the king find out, and he dies with it remaining in his body— / Yama, son of Vivasvat, is himself the inflictor of punishment upon him.

Therefore, by every effort, when sin has been committed by one who is aware, / an expiation must be performed as prescribed, declared by the brahmins.

Rohitāśva said: / For all sins that have been committed, O lord of sages, / declare some observance, or gift, or indeed a burnt offering, / by which, without a preparatory rite, one becomes freed from sin.

A man constantly commits subtle sins on every side; / how could there be the power to perform expiations for them all?

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / There is, O king, a holy observance called Puraścaraṇa; / the seventh [lunar day], beloved of the Sun, is designated as Puraścaraṇa,

by performing which, O king, Citragupta, the scribe born of Yama, / wipes away the sin committed and accumulated throughout life.

Therefore, O great king, quickly act according to my word, / whereby one is freed from all sin arising from the body.

Rohitāśva said: / By what procedure is the seventh lunar day called Puraścaraṇa to be observed, / and at what time, O best of sages? Tell me.

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / In the month of Māgha, during the bright fortnight, when the Sun is in Capricorn, / on a Sunday on the seventh lunar day, one should undertake this observance.

On that day one should not converse with heretics or fallen persons. / Having cleaned one's teeth at dawn, O best of kings, / a vow is then to be made with this mantra, O king:

“On the seventh [lunar day] dedicated to the preparatory rite, O lord of the day, / I shall fast; today you are my refuge.”

Then in the afternoon, having bathed and wearing washed clothes, being pure, / one should worship with devotion an image of the lord of day.

With red flowers, O mighty hero, one should then worship beginning with the feet: / [saying] “Salutations to Pataṅga” for the feet, and “to Mārtaṇḍa” for the knees;

“to the Lord of Day” for the private parts; “to the Twelve-formed One” for the navel; / “to the Lotus-handed One” for the arms; and “to the Sharp-rayed One” for the heart;

“to the One with the lustre of a lotus petal” for the neck; and “to the Luminous One” for the head. / Having thus worshipped according to the rule, one should offer incense and camphor,

and boiled rice with jaggery wrapped in a red cloth as the food-offering, / a lamp with a red wick, and likewise the waving of lights, O king.

Taking water in a conch mixed with red sandalwood paste, / and making it accompanied by fruit, one should thereafter offer the water of honour:

“Whatever wrong has been done, whether out of ignorance or even knowledge, / expiation has been made, O Lord; may my water of honour be accepted.”

Then one should honour a brahmin with scents, flowers, and unctions, / and having given food to him and a priestly gift according to one's means, / one should perform the sipping of the five bovine products for the purification of the body.

Having folded one's hands in reverence and looking up at the Sun, / turning toward the Sun, one should recite this mantra:

“This observance has been undertaken by me before you, O Lord; / may it reach unhindered completion through your grace, O Bhāskara.”

And then when the month of Phālguna arrives, O best of sages, / one should worship the God with jasmine by that very same procedure.

One should offer bdellium as incense, and cooked rice as the food-offering; / the sipping of cow-dung is prescribed for the purification of all sins.

And when the month of Caitra arrives, one should worship the Sun with fragrant flowers; / rolls of sweets are prescribed as the food-offering, and incense made from sal-resin.

And having sipped kuśa-water, one attains purification of the body. / In Vaiśākha, worship with kiṃśuka flowers and with offerings consumed by fire according to the rule;

and one should present […] as food-offering and incense; / sipping curd alone is to be performed here for the purification of the body.

The worship of the Sun is to be performed with trumpet-flowers, O king; / roasted barley-meal is prescribed as the food-offering, and sipping ghee is remembered [as the rule],

[ghee] from a tawny cow, O mighty hero, for the purification of all sins. / In Āṣāḍha, one should worship the Sun with sage-flowers, O king;

fried cakes are prescribed as the food-offering, and the sipping of honey and ghee; / and endowed with supreme faith, one should offer agallochum as incense.

In Śrāvaṇa, the worship of the Sharp-rayed One is with kadamba flowers; / modakas are for the food-offering, and one should take tagara as incense.

Consuming water washed over a cow's horn, one is immediately freed from sin. / In Bhādrapada, the worship is with royal jasmine; one should offer milk-rice as the food-offering, / / incense produced from nakha, and the sipping of milk alone. / In Āśvina, the worship is with lotuses, and ghee-pancake is the food-offering.

Incense made from saffron is prescribed; the consumption of camphor is remembered.

In the month of Kārtika, worship of the Sun is proclaimed [to be performed] with tulasī. / And for the food offering, candy sugar; [and] the incense made of safflower, O king.

And the consumption [of an offering] called clove purifies all sins. / In the month of Mārgaśīrṣa, one should perform worship with bhṛṅgarāja.

For the food offering, pheṇikā cakes should be given, and incense produced from molasses; / and the consumption of kaṅkola, for the satisfaction of the Sun.

In the month of Pauṣa, worship of the Sun is remembered [to be done] with the hundred-petalled rose; / natural incense is ordained, and likewise śuṣkalī cakes for the food offering.

For the consumption, one should perform all that were mentioned before. / And upon completion, one should then give a sixth part of what is in the house,

to a brahmin, O best of kings, for the complete purification of all sins. / Then feasts of desired foods should be provided according to one's means, O best of monarchs.

Whoever performs in this manner the seventh lunar day sacred to the Sun here, / freed from all sins, he attains purity.

The brahmins said: / "Thus was it told of old to the wise Rohitāśva / by Mārkaṇḍeya, O fortunate one; therefore, you too perform it,

by which your preliminary rite will be properly accomplished."

Sūta said: / Hearing that speech of his, Puṣpa too, O best of twice-born, / delighted, observed that seventh lunar day just as it was taught by him.

He gave a sixth part to that great-souled brahmin, / of his own wealth, consisting of house, base and precious metal, in its entirety.

He too accepted that wealth with a joyous heart— / gold, jewels, and precious stones beyond count.

Thus ends the one hundred and sixty-second chapter, named 'Description of the Ritual Rules for the Puraścaraṇasaptamī Vow' in the Māhātmya of Hāṭakeśvarakṣetra, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.