Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि गोष्पदं तीर्थमुत्तमम् । यत्र श्राद्धं नरः कृत्वा गयासप्तगुणं फलम् । लभते नात्र संदेहो यदि श्रद्धा दृढा भवेत्
īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi goṣpadaṃ tīrthamuttamam | yatra śrāddhaṃ naraḥ kṛtvā gayāsaptaguṇaṃ phalam | labhate nātra saṃdeho yadi śraddhā dṛḍhā bhavet
Īśvara sprach: Dann, o große Göttin, soll man zur vortrefflichen Tīrtha namens Goṣpada gehen. Wer dort das Śrāddha vollzieht, erlangt siebenfachen Verdienst im Vergleich zu Gayā—daran besteht kein Zweifel—sofern der Glaube fest ist.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Goṣpada Tīrtha
Type: kund
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Īśvara instructs Devī about Goṣpada tīrtha; beside a sacred waterbody, a householder performs śrāddha with piṇḍas and tila, while subtle ancestral forms receive offerings; a ‘cow’s hoofprint’ motif (goṣpada) marks the spot.
FAQs
Faith-filled ancestral rites performed at consecrated places multiply merit and strengthen one’s duty toward pitṛs (forebears).
Goṣpada tīrtha in Prabhāsakṣetra is praised as surpassing Gayā by sevenfold in śrāddha merit.
Perform śrāddha at Goṣpada tīrtha with firm śraddhā (faith).