Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
ततस्ते सहिताः सर्वे विस्मयोत्फुल्ललोचनाः । अत्र स्नाता वयं सर्वे यतः पिंगत्वमागताः । अतः प्रभृति नामास्यास्ततः पिंगा भविष्यति
tataste sahitāḥ sarve vismayotphullalocanāḥ | atra snātā vayaṃ sarve yataḥ piṃgatvamāgatāḥ | ataḥ prabhṛti nāmāsyāstataḥ piṃgā bhaviṣyati
Then all of them together, their eyes widened in wonder, said: “We have all bathed here, and thus have attained a tawny-golden radiance. Therefore, from this time onward, her name shall be ‘Piṅgā.’”
Īśvara (Śiva) narrating the sages’ words
Tirtha: Piṅgā-tīrtha / Piṅgalī (named here)
Type: ghat
Listener: Devī
Scene: Transformed sages stand together, eyes wide with wonder, pointing to their golden-tawny radiance; one elder declares the name ‘Piṅgā’; the river/kunda glows with amber light as if accepting the name.
FAQs
Purāṇic māhātmyas often encode spiritual truth through sacred etymology: the tīrtha’s name memorializes its transformative grace.
The Piṅgā/Piṅgalī river-tīrtha in Prabhāsa Kṣetra.
Snāna at the site; the verse explains the resulting ‘piṅga’ radiance and the river’s naming.