Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 34
तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा भक्तिभावेन भारत । गङ्गातीर्थे तु स स्नातः समस्तेषु न संशयः
tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā bhaktibhāvena bhārata | gaṅgātīrthe tu sa snātaḥ samasteṣu na saṃśayaḥ
Quiconque se baigne en ce tīrtha avec un cœur de dévotion, ô Bhārata, doit être tenu pour s’être baigné aux gués sacrés de la Gaṅgā—oui, en tous les tīrthas ; il n’y a là aucun doute.
Narrator (Mārkaṇḍeya addressing Yudhiṣṭhira as Bhārata, inferred)
Tirtha: Gaṅgāvāhaka
Type: ghat
Listener: Bhārata (addressed)
Scene: A devotee bathes with folded hands at the ford; behind him appear faint visionary overlays of famous Gaṅgā ghats and multiple tīrthas, signifying ‘all tīrthas’ contained in one act of devotion.
FAQs
Devotion (bhakti) makes the pilgrimage efficacious; a single sincere bath at a praised tīrtha can equal the merit of many famous pilgrimages.
The verse glorifies the same ‘that tīrtha’ of the passage—Gaṅgāvāhaka Tīrtha in Revā Khaṇḍa.
Perform snāna (ritual bathing) at the tīrtha with bhakti-bhāva (devotional intent).