Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48
ब्राह्मण उवाच । गोवाटचूर्णमादाय गर्तां भृत्वा स्वमानजाम् । शयनं तत्र कर्तव्यं यावद्वक्त्रेण यादव
brāhmaṇa uvāca | govāṭacūrṇamādāya gartāṃ bhṛtvā svamānajām | śayanaṃ tatra kartavyaṃ yāvadvaktreṇa yādava
Le brāhmane dit : « Prends la poudre de bouse de vache (ou la terre de l’étable), puis remplis-en une fosse creusée à la mesure de ton corps. Ô Yādava, il faut s’y étendre—jusqu’à la hauteur du visage. »
Brāhmaṇa (ritual instructor)
Tirtha: Tiṃginī (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sāmba (Yādava)
Scene: A brāhmaṇa demonstrates a ritual: a shallow pit is prepared; cow-pen earth/powder is gathered; the devotee is instructed to lie within the pit up to the face level, emphasizing measured austerity.
FAQs
Atonement is portrayed as disciplined bodily austerity undertaken with precise rules and humility.
The rite is part of the Tiṃginī-related tīrtha/expiation narrative within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya.
Prepare a pit to one’s measure, use govāṭa-cūrṇa as the filling/covering medium, and lie down according to the stated facial measure.