Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18
तस्य पापसहस्राणि विलयं यांति तत्क्षणात् । पुष्करे च प्रयागे वा यत्र क्वापि महाजले । चातुर्मास्येषु यः स्नाति पुण्यसंख्या न विद्यते
tasya pāpasahasrāṇi vilayaṃ yāṃti tatkṣaṇāt | puṣkare ca prayāge vā yatra kvāpi mahājale | cāturmāsyeṣu yaḥ snāti puṇyasaṃkhyā na vidyate
Pour lui, des milliers de péchés s’évanouissent à l’instant même. Qu’il soit à Puṣkara ou à Prayāga, ou en quelque grande étendue d’eau que ce soit, celui qui se baigne durant le Cāturmāsya acquiert un mérite sans nombre.
Sūta (deduced; Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration typically via Sūta to sages)
Tirtha: Puṣkara / Prayāga (exemplars) and ‘mahājala’ generally
Type: tirtha
Scene: Pilgrims at dawn bathing in a vast expanse of water; in the distance symbolic markers of Puṣkara (lotus lake) and Prayāga (river confluence), suggesting that sacred merit flows through all great waters in Cāturmāsya.
FAQs
Cāturmāsya bathing is presented as an exceptionally powerful purifier, destroying vast sin and generating immeasurable merit.
Puṣkara and Prayāga are explicitly mentioned; the verse also extends the praise to any ‘great waters’ suitable for sacred bathing.
Snāna (ritual bathing) during the Cāturmāsya months, ideally in major waters, including renowned tīrthas like Puṣkara and Prayāga.