Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 64
पृथिव्यां यानि तीर्थानि गङ्गाद्याः सरितस्तथा । एकस्य विप्रवाक्यस्य कलां नार्हन्ति षोडशीम्
pṛthivyāṃ yāni tīrthāni gaṅgādyāḥ saritastathā | ekasya vipravākyasya kalāṃ nārhanti ṣoḍaśīm
Segala tīrtha di bumi, bahkan sungai-sungai mulai dari Gaṅgā, tidak sebanding dengan seperenam belas bagian dari satu sabda seorang Brāhmaṇa.
Jagannātha (continuing speech in context)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as benchmark) / All tīrthas (collective)
Type: river
Scene: A cosmic scale: on one side, many rivers and tīrthas (Gaṅgā foremost) flow in splendor; on the other, a single brāhmaṇa’s spoken syllable appears as a radiant droplet outweighing them—depicted as a luminous ‘sixteenth part’ measure.
FAQs
Inner purification through righteous instruction and blessing is portrayed as superior to even the greatest external tīrthas and rivers.
Gaṅgā is cited as the archetypal sacred river, yet the verse elevates vipra-vākya above all tīrthas in purificatory power.
Prioritize listening to and following the dharmic words of realized Brāhmaṇas/sages as a primary means of purification.