Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17
महाघिनां महाघं च हरेत्पांचनदाद्बलात् । यं संचयति पापौघमावर्षं तीर्थनायकः । तमेकमज्जनादूर्जे त्यजेत्पंचनदे ध्रुवम्
mahāghināṃ mahāghaṃ ca haretpāṃcanadādbalāt | yaṃ saṃcayati pāpaughamāvarṣaṃ tīrthanāyakaḥ | tamekamajjanādūrje tyajetpaṃcanade dhruvam
By the power of Pañcanada, even the great sin of great sinners is removed. The mass of sins that the ‘leader of tīrthas’ accumulates throughout the year—by a single bath at Pañcanada in the month of Ūrja (Kārttika), he surely casts it off.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Pañcanada
Type: sangam
Scene: At Pañcanada in Kārttika dawn: five currents meet; a pilgrim steps into the water as dark sin-mass peels away like smoke; lamps float on the river, and the sky is clear with autumnal brightness.
FAQs
Sincere tīrtha-snāna at an exalted site and sacred season is said to break even heavy karmic burdens, reaffirming faith in dharma and purification.
Pañcanada, praised as powerful enough to remove even ‘mahāgha’ (great sin).
A single ritual bath (snāna) at Pañcanada in the month of Ūrja (Kārttika) is highlighted as especially efficacious.