Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 77
तस्या नद्या जलं स्पृष्ट्वा सर्वं वै मुक्तिमाप्नुते । सा नदी पृथिवीं भित्त्वा पातालादागता नृप
tasyā nadyā jalaṃ spṛṣṭvā sarvaṃ vai muktimāpnute | sā nadī pṛthivīṃ bhittvā pātālādāgatā nṛpa
Schon durch das bloße Berühren des Wassers jenes Flusses erlangen alle wahrlich Befreiung (mokṣa). Dieser Fluss, o König, ist aus Pātāla heraufgekommen und hat die Erde gespalten.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced); addressed to a king within the narrative
Tirtha: River of Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (unnamed here)
Type: sangam
Listener: Nṛpa (explicit: nṛpa)
Scene: A sacred river bursting upward through a cleft in the earth, with a luminous subterranean glow suggesting Pātāla; pilgrims touch the water with folded hands; the river’s surface shines with lotus and reflected temple light, indicating mokṣa-bestowing power.
FAQs
Tīrtha-jala carries liberating power; contact with sanctified waters is portrayed as a direct means to mokṣa.
A sacred river of the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra in Prabhāsa, described as emerging from Pātāla.
Sparśa (touching) the river water—by extension, snāna (bathing) and reverent contact with tīrtha-jala.