Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 43
क्षिप्तं पञ्चसु तीर्थेषु तद्भूयात्तीर्थमुत्तमम् । तथेत्युक्त्वा तु ते सर्वे पितरोऽदृश्यतां गताः
kṣiptaṃ pañcasu tīrtheṣu tadbhūyāttīrthamuttamam | tathetyuktvā tu te sarve pitaro'dṛśyatāṃ gatāḥ
« Si on le jette dans cinq tīrthas, cela deviendra un tīrtha excellent. » Ayant dit : « Qu’il en soit ainsi », tous ces Pitṛs disparurent à la vue.
Narrator; Pitṛs are the quoted speakers
Tirtha: Pañca-tīrtha (five sacred fords) generated by the act
Type: sangam
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: The ascetic symbolically casts the blood into five distinct sacred fords/ponds; each spot begins to glow as a tīrtha; the Pitṛs, having granted the boon, fade into invisibility.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma frames tīrthas as divinely sanctioned spaces where actions, offerings, and intentions are transmuted into purification and merit.
A cluster of five tīrthas is indicated, forming the sacred context for the Devamārga and the Narmadā tradition developed in the subsequent verses.
Casting/placing the offering into five tīrthas is presented as the act by which the place becomes ‘uttama-tīrtha’ (an excellent pilgrimage ford).