Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
यदा यदा भयार्त्तानि म्लेच्छस्पर्शात्समंततः । स्थानेष्वेतेषु तिष्ठंति तीर्थान्युक्तेषु सत्वरम्
yadā yadā bhayārttāni mlecchasparśātsamaṃtataḥ | sthāneṣveteṣu tiṣṭhaṃti tīrthānyukteṣu satvaram
Wann immer die Tīrthas von allen Seiten durch Furcht bedrängt werden, infolge der Berührung durch mlecchas, suchen sie eilends Zuflucht und verweilen in eben jenen genannten Stätten.
Pulastya
Tirtha: Refuge-kṣetras of tīrthas (Arbuda and the named great kṣetras)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (Rājan)
Scene: Personified tīrthas—river-goddesses, sages, and luminous water-forms—fleeing from a darkened, chaotic landscape and gathering swiftly into protected sanctuaries marked by shining temples and guardian devas.
FAQs
Sacred presence is portrayed as resilient: when threatened, tīrtha-power concentrates in protected dharmic locations.
It refers back to the previously named protected places (Puṣkara, Kurukṣetra, Vārāṇasī) and the Arbuda tīrtha-context.
No explicit rite; it provides a theological rationale for seeking tīrthas in safeguarded locales.