Skandapurana 5.162

Sūta said: / Then all those Nāgara brahmins, seeing him as the recipient of that wealth / which ought not to be taken by anyone, casting aside all desires,

having formed an agreement and brought in an arbitrator, / then spoke through his mouth, stationed at the Brahmasthāna:

"By this man, overcome with greed, scorning the best of twice-born / and taking Puṣpa's wealth, an expiation has been declared.

And likewise a sixth part of the wealth was accepted; / therefore he shall be cast out from all

the Nāgara foremost of twice-born, just like an ordinary outcast.

From this day forward, whoever makes an alliance with him / shall also be cast out from all the Nāgaras.

Whoever at any time takes food or water / in his house, he likewise will become fallen."

Having said this, three handclaps were then given by him, O twice-born, / at the Brahmasthāna, O best of twice-born, making him an outcast like Puṣpa.

Then all those brahmins went to their respective dwellings; / and Caṇḍaśarman, anxious, went to Puṣpa's presence at that time:

"With the approval of all these [brahmins], I then gave you / the expiation; nevertheless, I have been made fallen.

Therefore I will fall into a brightly blazing fire; / I have no desire to live, abandoned by my kinsmen."

Puṣpa said: / "You should not despair in this matter, O best of twice-born. / For you were censured by the best of brahmins for the sake of wealth.

I will satisfy those Nāgaras with diverse riches. / Whatever amount they demand for the purification of your person,

that much indeed I will give to them on your account." / Having spoken thus and quickly gone to the Brahmasthāna,

having summoned the fourfold assembly, he spoke through the mouth of the arbitrator: / "As for Caṇḍaśarman, the twice-born who has been made fallen on my account

by you out of greed for wealth, I give you that wealth— / all that is in my house; let a [favorable] verdict be made by the twice-born!"

Then, enraged, all those best of twice-born spoke, / making various hissing sounds, their eyes red with anger:

"Fie, fie, O worker of evil! Why then does your tongue / not split into a hundred pieces when you prattle such disgraceful nonsense?

He was not made fallen by us for the sake of wealth, / but because an expiation was given by a single wicked-minded man.

By him, performing this deed, the Smṛtis were violated, and especially the Purāṇas, / and our assembly hall as well.

An expiation is to be prescribed together with four others / after deliberation—precisely this was declared by Manu, O best of twice-born.

And your sin now resides in his body; / because it was given by him alone, therefore he remains fallen."

Sūta said: / Having spoken thus, all the twice-born went to their respective dwellings; / and Puṣpa too, greatly anxious, fell into extreme dismay.

He then went to his own abode, sighing like a serpent.

Then he thought: "As long as a daring deed is not done, / so long success is in no way produced for men.

Therefore, I will perform a great [deed] for Caṇḍaśarman's sake, / so that there will be no ingratitude; for it has been stated by the wise:

'For the killer of a brahmin, the drinker of liquor, the thief, and likewise the violator of vows, / an expiation is ordained by the virtuous; for the ungrateful man there is no expiation.'

Having thus resolved in his mind, when a seventh lunar day falling on Sunday / arrived, O best of twice-born, then one hundred and eight

circumambulations of Puṣpāditya were performed by the wise man. / Then, taking a sharp weapon in accordance with the previously declared rite, / cutting off his own limbs one by one, he would offer [them] as oblation into the fire.

Then, just as he was offering the final oblation with what remained of his body, / the Sun himself appeared before his eyes and spoke: 6.163.30

“Puṣpa, do not commit violence [against yourself]! I am well pleased with you, sinless one. / Tell me further, most fortunate one: what shall I grant you?” 31

Puṣpa said: / “This lord of brahmins, Caṇḍaśarman, was made fallen on my account / by all the Nāgaras, O Lord; restore him to equality with them. 32

The noble one examined the scriptures and gave me an expiation; / nonetheless, he was reviled by all those petty and intolerant [men].” 33

The Blessed Lord said: / “The word of even a single Nāgara cannot be set aside, / O best of brahmins, let alone [the word] of them all. 34

However, this brahmin Caṇḍaśarman will be purified; / he shall be celebrated as a Brāhmanāgara throughout the whole earth. 35

Whatever sons he has on the surface of the earth, / they too will attain fame, respected and honored by kings. 36

And whatever kinsmen and friends associate with him, / they too will become very distinguished. 37

And by my grace, you too will have your limbs fully restored.” 38

Having spoken thus, the thousand-rayed Sun disappeared from sight; / and Puṣpa at that very moment regained his uninjured state. 39

Thus ends the one hundred and sixty-third chapter, entitled 'Account of the Origin of the Brāhmanāgaras', in the Māhātmya of the Sacred Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth section in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, an eighty-one-thousand-verse collection. 163