Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3
इति ते कथितं मया प्रिये कलिपापौघविनाशनं शुभम् । निखिलं तीर्थमहोदयोदयं पठितं सद्विनिहंति पापसंहतिम्
iti te kathitaṃ mayā priye kalipāpaughavināśanaṃ śubham | nikhilaṃ tīrthamahodayodayaṃ paṭhitaṃ sadvinihaṃti pāpasaṃhatim
هكذا، يا حبيبة، قد أخبرتكِ بهذا الخبر المبارك الذي يُبيد سيلَ خطايا عصر كالي. إن هذا الثناءَ الكامل على إشراقِ المزارات المقدّسة—إذا قُرئ—يُفني يقينًا تراكمَ الآثام.
Īśvara (Śiva) [deduced from immediate context continuing into Adhyāya 6: “Īśvara uvāca”]
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as the māhātmya’s field)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A teacher recites the Prabhāsa tīrtha-māhātmya to attentive listeners; the text is shown as radiant; dark clouds labeled ‘Kali-pāpa’ disperse as sound-waves emanate.
FAQs
Reciting and preserving tīrtha-māhātmya is itself a purifying act that destroys accumulated sin, especially in Kali Yuga.
The verse praises the collective glory of the tīrthas connected with Vastrāpatha/Prabhāsa, as part of the Gaṅgeśvara-focused narrative context.
Pāṭha—reading/recitation of the māhātmya—is presented as the efficacious practice.