Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19
ध्यानं कृते मोक्षहेतुस्त्रेतायां तच्च वै तपः । द्वापरे तद्द्वयं यज्ञाः कलौ गंगैव केवलम्
dhyānaṃ kṛte mokṣahetustretāyāṃ tacca vai tapaḥ | dvāpare taddvayaṃ yajñāḥ kalau gaṃgaiva kevalam
কৃতযুগত ধ্যানেই মোক্ষৰ হেতু; ত্ৰেতাযুগত সেই লক্ষ্য তপস্যাৰে সিদ্ধ হয়। দ্বাপৰত দুয়ো একেলগে যজ্ঞৰূপে; কিন্তু কলিযুগত কেৱল গঙ্গাই একমাত্ৰ উপায়।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa often Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā
Type: river
Listener: Audience within Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s dialogue frame
Scene: Four spiritual disciplines depicted as yuga emblems: Kṛta—sage in deep meditation; Tretā—ascetic in tapas; Dvāpara—yajña with fire and offerings; Kali—pilgrims bathing in Gaṅgā with hands raised in prayer, the river shining like liquid light.
FAQs
The verse teaches yuga-appropriate sādhanā: in Kali-yuga, Gaṅgā is praised as the most effective support for liberation.
Gaṅgā is exalted as the decisive tīrtha/sādhana for Kali-yuga.
Implicitly, Gaṅgā-centered practice (snāna, sevā, remembrance) is recommended as Kali-yuga’s principal means.