Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24
कलापादिषु ग्रामेषु को वसेत विचक्षणः । यदि वासः स्तम्भतीर्थे क्षणार्धमपि लभ्यते
kalāpādiṣu grāmeṣu ko vaseta vicakṣaṇaḥ | yadi vāsaḥ stambhatīrthe kṣaṇārdhamapi labhyate
Wer von klarem Verstand würde in gewöhnlichen Dörfern wie Kalāpā wohnen, wenn sich auch nur ein halber Augenblick Aufenthalt am heiligen Stambhatīrtha erlangen lässt?
Hārīta
Tirtha: Stambhatīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śātātapa and companions
Scene: A contrast tableau: humble village lanes labeled ‘Kalāpā’ in the distance, while the foreground shows Stambhatīrtha—perhaps marked by a sacred pillar (stambha), a small shrine, and pilgrims arriving with urgency, as if time itself is precious.
FAQs
Even minimal contact with a powerful tīrtha surpasses prolonged life in spiritually ordinary places.
Stambhatīrtha is explicitly praised as uniquely merit-giving.
The implied practice is tīrtha-vāsa (staying/residing at the sacred site), even briefly, for accruing puṇya.