Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 60
यदा सर्वेषु तीर्थेषु स्नात्वापि च मुहुर्मुहुः । न निवृत्ता ब्रह्महत्या मिथिलामाययौ तदा । बाह्योद्यानगतस्तस्याश्चिंतया परयार्दितः
yadā sarveṣu tīrtheṣu snātvāpi ca muhurmuhuḥ | na nivṛttā brahmahatyā mithilāmāyayau tadā | bāhyodyānagatastasyāściṃtayā parayārditaḥ
Lorsque, malgré des bains répétés dans tous les tīrtha sacrés, le péché du meurtre d’un brāhmane ne s’apaisa point, il se rendit alors à Mithilā. Là, entré dans le jardin extérieur, il fut tourmenté par une angoisse profonde.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator, contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)
Tirtha: Mithilā-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A guilt-stricken king, after countless pilgrim baths, arrives at Mithilā and stands in the outer garden, head bowed, hands clasped, surrounded by quiet trees and a sense of moral weight.
FAQs
External rites like repeated tīrtha-bathing may be insufficient without the right guidance and inner transformation; one must seek true dharmic remedy.
No single tīrtha is singled out; the verse frames a pilgrimage to many tīrthas and then the arrival at Mithilā as the narrative setting.
Repeated tīrtha-snān (bathing at sacred places) is mentioned, but it is shown as not giving relief in this case.