Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 36
तीर्थस्नानार्थिनी चैव पतिपादोदकं पिबेत् । शंकरादपि वा विष्णोः पतिरेवाधि कः स्त्रियः
tīrthasnānārthinī caiva patipādodakaṃ pibet | śaṃkarādapi vā viṣṇoḥ patirevādhi kaḥ striyaḥ
Et si elle recherche le mérite du bain dans un gué sacré, qu’elle boive l’eau ayant lavé les pieds de son époux. Car, pour une femme, son mari est tenu pour plus grand encore que Śaṅkara ou Viṣṇu.
Unspecified (Dharmāraṇya narrative voice; didactic instruction in context)
Tirtha: Pati-pādodaka (domestic tīrtha substitute)
Type: kund
Scene: A reverential act: wife receives a small vessel of water used to wash husband’s feet; the scene is framed like a miniature tīrtha ritual, with a sanctified aura around the household.
FAQs
The verse elevates household devotion as a potent spiritual path, equating service to the spouse with sacred merit.
No single tīrtha is named; the verse speaks generally of tīrtha-snāna merit.
Drinking the water from washing the husband’s feet is presented as equivalent to tīrtha-bathing merit.