Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 68
भूयश्चापि प्रसिद्ध्यर्थं प्रेषिताप्सरसोऽत्र मे । विमोक्षिता ग्राहरूपात्त्वया ताश्च कुरूद्वह
bhūyaścāpi prasiddhyarthaṃ preṣitāpsaraso'tra me | vimokṣitā grāharūpāttvayā tāśca kurūdvaha
De plus, afin que ce lieu gagne une renommée plus vaste, mes apsaras furent envoyées ici ; et toi, ô le meilleur des Kurus, tu les délivras de leur forme de crocodiles.
Narratorial voice within Sūta’s discourse (context suggests address to Arjuna as listener in the embedded story)
Tirtha: Guptakṣetra (liberation-tīrtha episode)
Type: tirtha
Listener: Kuru-dvaha (best of the Kurus)
Scene: Apsarases trapped in crocodile bodies in sacred waters are released by the heroic figure addressed as ‘best of Kurus’; the crocodile forms dissolve, revealing radiant celestial women rising from the water, while the kṣetra’s fame spreads.
FAQs
Sacred sites become renowned through acts of liberation and grace; rescuing the afflicted is itself a tīrtha-like merit.
The verse supports the renown (prasiddhi) of the local kṣetra/tīrtha (Guptakṣetra context), marked by a liberation-legend.
No explicit rite; the emphasis is on dharmic action—freeing beings from bondage—as spiritually efficacious within the kṣetra.