Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
यदा यदा भयार्त्तानि म्लेच्छस्पर्शात्समंततः । स्थानेष्वेतेषु तिष्ठंति तीर्थान्युक्तेषु सत्वरम्
yadā yadā bhayārttāni mlecchasparśātsamaṃtataḥ | sthāneṣveteṣu tiṣṭhaṃti tīrthānyukteṣu satvaram
જ્યારે-જ્યારે મ્લેચ્છ-સ્પર્શના કારણે સર્વત્ર તીર્થો ભયથી પીડિત થાય છે, ત્યારે તેઓ તરત જ જણાવેલાં એ જ સ્થાનોમાં શરણ લઈ સ્થિર રહે છે।
Pulastya
Tirtha: Refuge-kṣetras of tīrthas (Arbuda and the named great kṣetras)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (Rājan)
Scene: Personified tīrthas—river-goddesses, sages, and luminous water-forms—fleeing from a darkened, chaotic landscape and gathering swiftly into protected sanctuaries marked by shining temples and guardian devas.
FAQs
Sacred presence is portrayed as resilient: when threatened, tīrtha-power concentrates in protected dharmic locations.
It refers back to the previously named protected places (Puṣkara, Kurukṣetra, Vārāṇasī) and the Arbuda tīrtha-context.
No explicit rite; it provides a theological rationale for seeking tīrthas in safeguarded locales.