Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18
तत्र तीर्थे तु यो गत्वा स्नानं कुर्यान्नरेश्वर । अश्वमेधस्य यज्ञस्य फलं प्राप्नोति मानवः । एवम्भूतं न जानन्ति मोक्षापेक्षणिका नराः
tatra tīrthe tu yo gatvā snānaṃ kuryānnareśvara | aśvamedhasya yajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti mānavaḥ | evambhūtaṃ na jānanti mokṣāpekṣaṇikā narāḥ
يا سيّد الناس، من قصد ذلك التيرثا واغتسل فيه نال ثمرة قربان الأشفاميدها. ومع ذلك فإنّ المتطلّعين إلى الموكشا لا يعرفون مثل هذه الحقيقة العجيبة.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Muktitīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: Nareśvara (addressed: ‘O lord of men’)
Scene: A pilgrim enters the river at the ghat, hands joined, performing snāna; above, a symbolic vision of a horse-sacrifice altar appears faintly in the sky as a metaphor for ‘Aśvamedha-phala’; nearby, some indifferent travelers pass, illustrating ‘not knowing’.
FAQs
Pilgrimage and tīrtha-snān can equal the highest sacrificial merits, yet discernment is needed to value such dharma-supporting means.
The ‘tatra tīrthe’ refers to the celebrated Muktitīrtha/Bhūtīśvara context of this adhyāya in Revā Khaṇḍa.
Go to the tīrtha and perform snāna; its promised fruit is compared to the Aśvamedha yajña.