Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23
कदा पश्यति तीर्थं वै कदा नस्तारयिष्यति । इति प्रतीक्षां कुर्वन्ति पुत्राणां सततं नृप । शूलभेदे नरः स्नात्वा दृष्ट्वा शूलधरं सकृत्
kadā paśyati tīrthaṃ vai kadā nastārayiṣyati | iti pratīkṣāṃ kurvanti putrāṇāṃ satataṃ nṛpa | śūlabhede naraḥ snātvā dṛṣṭvā śūladharaṃ sakṛt
«¿Cuándo contemplará el vado sagrado—cuándo nos hará cruzar a la liberación?» Así, oh Rey, los antepasados aguardan sin cesar a sus hijos. Pero en Śūlabheda, cuando un hombre se baña y aun una sola vez contempla al Señor portador del tridente, la liberación queda asegurada.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing a King (nṛpa) (deduced from vocative nṛpa)
Tirtha: Śūlabheda
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nṛpa (King)
Scene: A son-pilgrim reaches a forested ford named Śūlabheda, bathes, and beholds Śiva as Śūladhara; in the subtle background, pitṛs wait with uplifted hands, their faces turning from anxiety to relief.
FAQs
Pilgrimage and devotion are portrayed as acts of filial responsibility that uplift the pitṛs; Śiva-darśana is especially salvific.
Śūlabheda-tīrtha, where bathing and seeing Śiva (Śūladhara) grants deliverance to one’s ancestral line.
Snāna (ritual bath) at Śūlabheda and darśana of Śiva, even once.