Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1
पुलस्त्य उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्नृपश्रेष्ठ ईशानीशिखरं महत् । यत्र गौर्या तपस्तप्तं सुपुण्यं लोकविश्रुतम्
pulastya uvāca | tato gacchennṛpaśreṣṭha īśānīśikharaṃ mahat | yatra gauryā tapastaptaṃ supuṇyaṃ lokaviśrutam
પુલસ્ત્ય બોલ્યા—ત્યારબાદ, હે નૃપશ્રેષ્ઠ, મહાન ‘ઈશાની-શિખર’ પર જવું જોઈએ; જ્યાં ગૌરીએ તપ કર્યું—અતિ પવિત્ર અને લોકવિખ્યાત।
Pulastya
Tirtha: Īśānī-śikhara
Type: peak
Listener: Yayāti
Scene: Pulastya, the sage, points out a towering peak to King Yayāti; on the summit, Gaurī is depicted in austere meditation—matted hair, simple bark/cloth, surrounded by quiet forest and rocky outcrops; a subtle aura marks the ‘lokaviśruta’ sanctity.
FAQs
Pilgrimage to a sanctified site connected with divine tapas is presented as a direct means to gain great puṇya and spiritual uplift.
Īśānī-śikhara, a great peak praised in the Arbuda Khaṇḍa as the place of Gaurī’s austerities.
A clear prescription is given: one should go (gacchet) to Īśānī-śikhara—i.e., undertake tīrtha-yātrā to that place.