स्कंद उवाच । इत्यन्योन्यस्य शापेन मुने धर्मो नदोऽभवत् । अविमुक्ते महाक्षेत्रे ख्यातो धर्मनदो महान्
skaṃda uvāca | ityanyonyasya śāpena mune dharmo nado'bhavat | avimukte mahākṣetre khyāto dharmanado mahān
ಸ್ಕಂದನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ಮುನಿಯೇ! ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಶಾಪಗಳಿಂದ ಧರ್ಮನು ನದಿಯಾದನು. ಅವಿಮುಕ್ತ ಮಹಾಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನು ‘ಮಹಾನ್ ಧರ್ಮನದ’ ಎಂದು ಖ್ಯಾತನಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ।
Skanda
Tirtha: Dharmanadā
Type: river
Listener: O sage (muni)
Scene: Skanda as narrator (youthful divine commander) gestures toward a sacred stream within Kāśī; the river is personified as Dharma—serene, luminous—flowing past ghāṭas and liṅga shrines, with pilgrims offering water.
Even conflict and curse can be transmuted into sacred purpose within Kāśī—dharma becomes a living tīrtha that guides pilgrims toward purification.
Avimukta Mahākṣetra in Kāśī, specifically the Dharmanadā (Dharma-nada) river/tīrtha.
Not stated here; the verse identifies the tīrtha’s origin and fame, preparing for later merit (puṇya) descriptions.