Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 63
यस्तत्र कुरुते स्नानं तस्य मृत्युभयं कुतः । साऽद्य पंचदशी राम ज्येष्ठमाससमुद्भवा । ज्येष्ठानक्षत्रसंयुक्ता तस्मात्स्नातुं त्वमर्हसि
yastatra kurute snānaṃ tasya mṛtyubhayaṃ kutaḥ | sā'dya paṃcadaśī rāma jyeṣṭhamāsasamudbhavā | jyeṣṭhānakṣatrasaṃyuktā tasmātsnātuṃ tvamarhasi
Celui qui s’y baigne, comment la crainte de la mort pourrait-elle demeurer en lui ? Aujourd’hui, ô Rāma, c’est le quinzième jour lunaire né du mois de Jyeṣṭha, conjoint à la nakṣatra Jyeṣṭhā ; c’est pourquoi tu dois te baigner en ce tīrtha.
Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from the advisory tone and continuity)
Tirtha: Pitāmaha/Brahmā-tīrtha (bathing spot)
Type: ghat
Listener: Rāma
Scene: The guide emphatically declares that bathing here removes fear of death, then points out the auspicious alignment: Jyeṣṭha month’s fifteenth day with Jyeṣṭhā nakṣatra, urging Rāma to bathe now.
FAQs
A holy bath undertaken with right time and faith is portrayed as a powerful purifier that even dispels existential fear.
The unnamed ‘there’ refers to the tīrtha being recommended in this adhyāya, later specified as a renowned tīrtha near Mārkaṇḍeya’s hermitage.
Snāna at the tīrtha on Jyeṣṭha pañcadaśī (full-moon) when joined with Jyeṣṭhā nakṣatra.