Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 61
स्नातो भवति सर्वत्र ललाटे यस्त्रिपुंड्रधृक् । सप्तकोटिमहामंत्राः पंचाक्षरपुरःसराः
snāto bhavati sarvatra lalāṭe yastripuṃḍradhṛk | saptakoṭimahāmaṃtrāḥ paṃcākṣarapuraḥsarāḥ
Wo immer er sich befindet, gilt der, der das Tripuṇḍra auf der Stirn trägt, als einer, der überall (in heiligen Wassern) gebadet hat. Die großen Mantras—sieben Krore—angeführt von der Pañcākṣarī,
Unknown (contextual narrator within Brahmottara-khaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)
Tirtha: Sarva-tīrtha (universal)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee with bright Tripuṇḍra stands at a crossroads; around him appear translucent visions of many famous tīrthas and ghats, as if he has bathed in all; above, the Pañcākṣarī radiates like a mantra-sun.
FAQs
Shaiva identity-markers and mantra-centered devotion are equated with the purifying power of pilgrimage bathing.
No single tīrtha is named; the claim is universal—Tripuṇḍra-bearing is likened to bathing at all sacred waters.
Wearing Tripuṇḍra on the forehead, and reverence for/recourse to Shaiva mantras led by the Pañcākṣarī.