Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 46
तदर्धं रोगिणां चापि सुस्थे न्यूनं न कार येत् । अपि सर्वनदीतोयैर्मृत्कूटैश्चाप्यगोपमैः
tadardhaṃ rogiṇāṃ cāpi susthe nyūnaṃ na kāra yet | api sarvanadītoyairmṛtkūṭaiścāpyagopamaiḥ
Pour les malades, on peut n’en faire même que la moitié; mais l’homme sain ne doit pas faire moins. Même avec l’eau de n’importe quelle rivière et avec des mottes de terre —sans préparation particulière— la purification doit être accomplie.
Anonymous Purāṇic narrator (Dharmāraṇya instructional passage; speaker not explicit in the excerpt)
Type: river
Scene: A convalescent pilgrim performs minimal cleansing with a small pot of river water and a simple clod of earth; beside him a healthy pilgrim performs the full measure.
FAQs
Dharma balances compassion and rigor: concessions exist for illness, but health requires full observance.
No particular river or tīrtha is singled out; it broadly permits river-water for purification.
The sick may do reduced śauca; the healthy should not reduce it; purification may be done using any river water and ordinary clods of earth.