Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
अद्येयं कार्तिकी पुण्या कृत्तिकायोगसंयुता । यस्यां स्नाने नरैः श्रेयः प्राप्यते पुष्करोदके । आद्यं तु पुष्करं दूरे न गन्तुं शक्यतेऽधुना
adyeyaṃ kārtikī puṇyā kṛttikāyogasaṃyutā | yasyāṃ snāne naraiḥ śreyaḥ prāpyate puṣkarodake | ādyaṃ tu puṣkaraṃ dūre na gantuṃ śakyate'dhunā
Aujourd’hui est la sainte Kārttikī, jointe à la conjonction de Kṛttikā ; en se baignant ce jour-là dans les eaux de Puṣkara, les hommes obtiennent un bien spirituel et du mérite. Mais le Puṣkara originel est lointain, et il n’est pas possible d’y aller maintenant.
Viśvāmitra (embedded thought/utterance reported by Sūta)
Tirtha: Puṣkaratraya / Puṣkara-udaka (local manifestation)
Type: kund
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Viśvāmitra speaks to himself in resolve: the sky marked by Kṛttikā stars, three lotus-filled pools nearby; a distant horizon suggests faraway Puṣkara, unreachable now.
FAQs
When sacred time arrives, one should not miss dharma due to distance; a nearby sanctified tīrtha can confer the intended merit.
Puṣkara waters in the local Puṣkara-traya, contrasted with the distant “Ādya Puṣkara.”
Kārttikī bathing in Puṣkara water—especially under the Kṛttikā conjunction—is said to yield śreyas (spiritual good).