Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 111
ब्रह्मोवाच । तीर्थयात्रां सुरश्रेष्ठ तदर्थं कर्तुमर्हसि । तया विना न ते पापं नाशमायाति कृत्स्नशः
brahmovāca | tīrthayātrāṃ suraśreṣṭha tadarthaṃ kartumarhasi | tayā vinā na te pāpaṃ nāśamāyāti kṛtsnaśaḥ
Brahmā dit : «Ô le meilleur des dieux, pour cette raison tu dois entreprendre le pèlerinage vers les tīrtha sacrés. Sans cela, ton péché ne sera pas entièrement anéanti.»
Brahmā
Tirtha: General tīrtha-yātrā (Nāgara tīrtha-circuit; specific tīrtha likely detailed in subsequent verses)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Indra (Surśreṣṭha)
Scene: Brahmā instructs Indra with an authoritative yet compassionate gesture, pointing outward as if indicating a route across sacred landscapes; behind them, a stylized map-like band of rivers, ghats, and temples suggests pilgrimage.
FAQs
Sacred geography is a dharmic medicine: pilgrimage to tīrthas is upheld as a powerful means of complete purification.
This verse praises tīrthas in general rather than naming one location; it frames tīrthayātrā itself as the purifying path.
Tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage), implying repeated visits and sacred bathing (snāna) as the means to remove sin fully.