Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1
ईश्वर उवाच । तस्यैव दक्षिणे देवि तस्माद्गव्यूतिमात्रतः । पातालगामिनी गंगा संस्थिता पापनाशिनी
īśvara uvāca | tasyaiva dakṣiṇe devi tasmādgavyūtimātrataḥ | pātālagāminī gaṃgā saṃsthitā pāpanāśinī
ঈশ্বৰে ক’লে: হে দেবী, সেই স্থানৰেই দক্ষিণে, কেৱল এক গব্যূতি দূৰত, পাতালগামী গঙ্গা—পাপনাশিনী—তাতেই প্ৰতিষ্ঠিত আছে।
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Pātālagāminī Gaṅgā (Prabhāsa)
Type: ghat
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Īśvara points southward from the Bālārka shrine; a luminous ribbon of water emerges and descends into a dark, cavern-like opening symbolizing Pātāla; pilgrims gather with waterpots; the river glows with a celestial sheen.
FAQs
Sacred geography is itself salvific: proximity to a tīrtha like Pātāla Gaṅgā is portrayed as a means for pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sin).
Pātāla Gaṅgā at Prabhāsa Kṣetra.
Implicitly, tīrtha-sevā such as visiting and bathing is suggested by describing the sin-destroying Gaṅgā, though bathing is stated explicitly in the next verse.
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