Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18
तत्र तीर्थे तु यो गत्वा स्नानं कुर्यान्नरेश्वर । अश्वमेधस्य यज्ञस्य फलं प्राप्नोति मानवः । एवम्भूतं न जानन्ति मोक्षापेक्षणिका नराः
tatra tīrthe tu yo gatvā snānaṃ kuryānnareśvara | aśvamedhasya yajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti mānavaḥ | evambhūtaṃ na jānanti mokṣāpekṣaṇikā narāḥ
ഹേ നരേശ്വരാ! ആ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ചെന്നു സ്നാനം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ അശ്വമേധയാഗഫലം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. എങ്കിലും മോക്ഷം ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവർ ഇത്തരമൊരു സത്യം അറിയുന്നില്ല।
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Muktitīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: Nareśvara (addressed: ‘O lord of men’)
Scene: A pilgrim enters the river at the ghat, hands joined, performing snāna; above, a symbolic vision of a horse-sacrifice altar appears faintly in the sky as a metaphor for ‘Aśvamedha-phala’; nearby, some indifferent travelers pass, illustrating ‘not knowing’.
FAQs
Pilgrimage and tīrtha-snān can equal the highest sacrificial merits, yet discernment is needed to value such dharma-supporting means.
The ‘tatra tīrthe’ refers to the celebrated Muktitīrtha/Bhūtīśvara context of this adhyāya in Revā Khaṇḍa.
Go to the tīrtha and perform snāna; its promised fruit is compared to the Aśvamedha yajña.