Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17
तथैव पार्थ तीर्थानां शुक्लतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । दुर्विज्ञेयो यथा लोके परमात्मा सनातनः
tathaiva pārtha tīrthānāṃ śuklatīrthamanuttamam | durvijñeyo yathā loke paramātmā sanātanaḥ
De même, ô fils de Pṛthā, parmi les tīrtha, Śuklatīrtha est sans égal ; pourtant il est difficile à reconnaître, tout comme le Soi suprême, éternel, est difficile à saisir en ce monde.
Narrator (contextual; addressing Yudhiṣṭhira with the epithet pārtha)
Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: Pārtha / Dharmaputra (Yudhiṣṭhira)
Scene: A pilgrim-king addressed as Pārtha/Dharmaputra stands on a quiet Narmadā bank; the tīrtha is not marked by grand architecture—only a luminous, subtle whiteness (śukla) in the water/shore hints at its presence; a sage points inward, equating the hidden tīrtha with the hidden Self.
FAQs
The highest realities—supreme tīrthas and the Supreme Self—may be subtle and not easily recognized without discernment and devotion.
Śuklatīrtha, declared anuttama (unsurpassed) among tīrthas.
No explicit ritual; the verse emphasizes discernment in recognizing a tīrtha’s true greatness.