Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 62
आपः पतिव्रतास्पर्शमभिलष्यंति सर्वदा । गायत्र्याघविनाशो नो पातिव्रत्येन साऽघनुत्
āpaḥ pativratāsparśamabhilaṣyaṃti sarvadā | gāyatryāghavināśo no pātivratyena sā'ghanut
The waters ever long for the touch of a pativratā. Even the sin-destroying power associated with Gāyatrī is, for us, accomplished by her pativratā—she dispels sin through that devotion.
Unknown (contextual narrator within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic teacher-voice)
Tirtha: Āpaḥ (Sarva-tīrtha-svarūpa) touched by Pativratā
Type: river
Scene: A river personified as a goddess rises with folded hands toward a pativratā; ripples form Gāyatrī’s meter-like patterns; sins depicted as dark smoke dissipate upon her presence.
FAQs
Devotion and moral steadfastness are presented as a powerful purifier—capable of removing sin like the most sacred mantra-energies.
No single site is named; the verse uses the imagery of sacred waters and purification in a generalized Mahatmya style.
Gāyatrī is referenced as a sin-destroyer, but the verse does not prescribe japa; it praises pativratā-dharma as an equivalent purifier.