Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
सूत उवाच । अथान्यदपि तत्रास्ति मुखारं तीर्थमुत्तमम् । यत्र ते मुनयः श्रेष्ठा विप्राश्चौरेण संगताः । यत्र सिद्धिं समापन्नः स चौरस्तत्प्रभावतः । वाल्मीकिरिति विख्यातो रामायणनिबंधकृत्
sūta uvāca | athānyadapi tatrāsti mukhāraṃ tīrthamuttamam | yatra te munayaḥ śreṣṭhā viprāścaureṇa saṃgatāḥ | yatra siddhiṃ samāpannaḥ sa caurastatprabhāvataḥ | vālmīkiriti vikhyāto rāmāyaṇanibaṃdhakṛt
Sūta berkata: “Di sana juga ada satu tempat suci tertinggi bernama Mukhāra Tīrtha, tempat para resi utama dan para brāhmaṇa bertemu seorang pencuri. Karena daya tīrtha itu, si pencuri mencapai siddhi dan menjadi termasyhur sebagai Vālmīki, penyusun Rāmāyaṇa.”
Sūta
Tirtha: Mukhāra Tīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (implied Sūta-saṃvāda frame)
Scene: A sacred ford/pond named Mukhāra: serene water, sages and brāhmaṇas gathered; a fearful thief approaches; a luminous shift as he is purified—hinting at the future poet Vālmīki with a palm-leaf manuscript aura.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s grace can transform even a sinner into a siddha, illustrating dharma’s power of redemption.
Mukhāra Tīrtha, praised as the place connected with Vālmīki’s attainment.
No explicit rite is stated; the verse highlights the tīrtha’s inherent spiritual efficacy (prabhāva).