Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 56
व्याप्य सा तिष्ठते तीर्थं गजकुम्भनिभा शिला । तच्च गव्यूतिमात्रं हि तीर्थं ततः प्रवक्षते
vyāpya sā tiṣṭhate tīrthaṃ gajakumbhanibhā śilā | tacca gavyūtimātraṃ hi tīrthaṃ tataḥ pravakṣate
Jener Stein, dem gerundeten Elefantenstirn gleich, durchdringt und begründet dort die Tīrtha; und man sagt, dieser heilige Bezirk erstrecke sich über das Maß eines Gavyūti — so wird die Ausdehnung der Tīrtha verkündet.
Tīrtha-māhātmya narrator (contextual; likely a sage addressing a king)
Tirtha: Brahmaśilā/Gayāśiras-kṣetra (Revā-tīrtha)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpa (king)
Scene: A map-like sacred scene: the elephant-forehead-like stone at center, with an implied circular/oval boundary representing one gavyūti; pilgrims circumambulate within the precinct along the riverbank.
FAQs
A tīrtha is not only a point but a sanctified field; physical markers like a sacred stone define the living geography of merit.
The Gayāśiras-śilā tīrtha in the Revā Khaṇḍa context.
A practical note for pilgrims: the tīrtha’s sacred boundary is traditionally understood as one gavyūti.