Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15
ततश्च तत्क्षणाज्जातं तत्तोयं रुधिरं द्विजाः । सारस्वतं सुपुण्यं च यदासीच्छंखसंनिभम्
tataśca tatkṣaṇājjātaṃ tattoyaṃ rudhiraṃ dvijāḥ | sārasvataṃ supuṇyaṃ ca yadāsīcchaṃkhasaṃnibham
Alors, à l’instant même, ô brāhmaṇas, cette eau devint du sang, bien qu’elle fût l’eau Sārasvata, d’un mérite suprême, qui brillait naguère comme une conque.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing sages/brāhmaṇas)
Tirtha: Sārasvata-jala
Type: kund
Listener: dvijāḥ (brāhmaṇas)
Scene: The conch-white sacred water suddenly flushes crimson like blood; onlookers recoil as the river’s surface gleams red under a darkened sky.
FAQs
Even a supremely holy tīrtha can manifest fearsome forms when divine speech (śāpa/mantra) operates—reminding pilgrims to approach sacred sites with reverence and restraint.
The Sārasvata water/tīrtha (Sārasvata-jala), associated with Sarasvatī and praised for extraordinary purity.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it narrates the miraculous change in the tīrtha-water.