Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53
माहात्म्यं ये च गंगायाः शृण्वंति च पठंति च । तेप्यशेषैर्महापापैर्मुच्यंते नात्र संशयः
māhātmyaṃ ye ca gaṃgāyāḥ śṛṇvaṃti ca paṭhaṃti ca | tepyaśeṣairmahāpāpairmucyaṃte nātra saṃśayaḥ
যারা গঙ্গার মাহাত্ম্য শোনে এবং যারা তা পাঠ করে, তারাও সমস্ত মহাপাপ থেকে মুক্ত হয়—এতে কোনো সন্দেহ নেই।
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā
Type: river
Scene: A small assembly on a Kāśī ghāṭa: a paṇḍita recites Gaṅgā-māhātmya from a palm-leaf manuscript; listeners sit with folded hands; the river flows behind, and a subtle aura indicates sins dissolving like dark mist.
FAQs
Sacred listening and recitation (śravaṇa/pāṭha) of tīrtha-glory is itself a purifying practice.
Gaṅgā, praised through her māhātmya within Kāśī Khaṇḍa.
Śravaṇa (hearing) and pāṭha (recitation/reading) of Gaṅgā-māhātmya.