Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27
लोकेऽस्मिन्द्विविधं तीर्थं स्वच्छ न्दैर्निर्म्मितं तथा । स्वयंभूतं प्रभासाद्यं निर्मितं दैवतैः कृतम्
loke'smindvividhaṃ tīrthaṃ svaccha ndairnirmmitaṃ tathā | svayaṃbhūtaṃ prabhāsādyaṃ nirmitaṃ daivataiḥ kṛtam
In dieser Welt gibt es zwei Arten von Tīrthas (heiligen Furten): solche, die durch freie menschliche Initiative errichtet wurden, und solche, die sich selbst offenbaren—unter ihnen ist Prabhāsa die vornehmste—sowie auch jene, die von den Göttern selbst gegründet wurden.
Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa māhātmya discourse style)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa
Type: kshetra
Scene: A cosmographic tableau showing three categories of tīrthas: a human-built ghat, a deva-established shrine, and a self-manifest luminous tīrtha labeled Prabhāsa, radiating natural sanctity without human construction; sages point and teach pilgrims.
FAQs
Tīrthas are not all alike; self-manifest and divinely founded sites carry a distinctive sanctity, with Prabhāsa praised as foremost.
Prabhāsa (Prabhāsa-kṣetra), presented as a leading self-manifest tīrtha.
No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse classifies tīrthas to frame later rules about conduct at the sacred site.