Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 87
लंबतेऽवाक्छिरा यस्तु युगानामयुतं पुमान् । स्नातानां शुचिभिस्तोयैः संगमे प्रयतात्मनाम्
laṃbate'vākchirā yastu yugānāmayutaṃ pumān | snātānāṃ śucibhistoyaiḥ saṃgame prayatātmanām
Even if a man were to hang upside down for ten thousand yugas, he would not surpass the merit connected with the pure waters of those disciplined souls who have bathed at the confluence.
Brahmā (deduced: Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Ayodhyā-saṅgama (śuci-toya-mahimā)
Type: sangam
Listener: Sages/pilgrims (general)
Scene: An ascetic hangs upside down (avāk-śiras) in severe penance, while at the saṅgama disciplined devotees bathe; the water is depicted luminous, as if carrying the ‘śuci’ of their intention.
FAQs
Purity, restraint, and sacred-place observance can outweigh extreme bodily mortifications; tīrtha practice is framed as compassionate dharma.
The saṅgama (confluence) tīrtha in Ayodhyā, whose waters sanctify disciplined bathers.
Snāna at the saṅgama with purity and self-restraint (prayatātman), highlighted as superior to severe upside-down austerity.