Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.2747

c8.2747

PUNYAŚĪLA. A brahmin who was residing on the banks of the river Godāvarī. Once Puṇyaśīla engaged a brahmin widower for officiating in the Śrāddha ceremony. As a result of that sin Puṇyaśīla's face became that of a donkey. To be freed from the sin he went and bathed in the Svāmitīrtha and Ākāśagaṅgātīrtha of Veṅkaṭācala. His sin was washed away and his face regained its original form. (Chapter 2, Skanda Purāṇa)