Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90
अनयाः संपदो यद्वन्मखा यद्वददक्षिणाः । तद्वद्देशा दिशः सर्वा हीना गंगांभसा हरे
anayāḥ saṃpado yadvanmakhā yadvadadakṣiṇāḥ | tadvaddeśā diśaḥ sarvā hīnā gaṃgāṃbhasā hare
Wahai Hara, sebagaimana harta tanpa pemanfaatan yang benar dan yajña tanpa dakṣiṇā menjadi sia-sia, demikian pula semua negeri dan segala penjuru menjadi kurang bila tanpa air suci Gaṅgā.
Skanda
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (in Kāśī)
Type: ghat
Listener: Hara (Śiva) addressed
Scene: A devotional address to Hara with Gaṅgā as the indispensable sanctifier of all quarters; symbolic imagery of barren directions becoming luminous when touched by Gaṅgā’s flow.
FAQs
Sacred merit depends on proper spiritual connection; without Gaṅgā’s sanctifying presence, worldly completeness is considered lacking.
The Gaṅgā as the paramount tīrtha, especially in the Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) context of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.
No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse implies the religious indispensability of Gaṅgā-water (for snāna, pāna, and purification).