Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15
राम उवाच । पितरो यदि तुष्टा मे यच्छंति यदि वांछितम् । तस्मात्तीर्थमिदं पुण्यं मन्नाम्ना लोकविश्रुतम् । रक्तदोषविनिर्मुक्तं सेवितं वरतापसैः
rāma uvāca | pitaro yadi tuṣṭā me yacchaṃti yadi vāṃchitam | tasmāttīrthamidaṃ puṇyaṃ mannāmnā lokaviśrutam | raktadoṣavinirmuktaṃ sevitaṃ varatāpasaiḥ
Rāma dit : «Si mes Pitṛs, mes ancêtres, sont satisfaits et m’accordent ce que je désire, alors que ce tīrtha sacré soit renommé dans le monde sous mon nom—délivré de la faute de sang versé, et fréquenté par d’excellents ascètes, fidèles à leurs vœux.»
Rāma
Tirtha: Rāmahrada (proposed)
Type: kund
Listener: Pitṛs (ancestors)
Scene: Rāma stands at a quiet water-hollow formed by offerings to the ancestors; he declares a vow that the place become a famed tīrtha, purified of blood-guilt, while austere sages gather nearby.
FAQs
A tīrtha becomes spiritually potent not only by geography but by dharmic intention—purity, truthfulness, and ancestral blessing sanctify a place for all.
The holy site is the tīrtha that will become famous by Rāma’s name—later declared as Rāmahrada.
The verse frames a boon: establishing a tīrtha renowned for purity (freedom from rakta-doṣa) and fit for ascetic practice; it implies pilgrimage and devotional resort to the site.