Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13
स स्नातः सर्वतीर्थेषु सर्वक्रतुषु दीक्षितः । चीर्णसर्वव्रतः सोपि यस्तु गंगां निषेवते
sa snātaḥ sarvatīrtheṣu sarvakratuṣu dīkṣitaḥ | cīrṇasarvavrataḥ sopi yastu gaṃgāṃ niṣevate
ഭക്തിയോടെ ഗംഗയെ ആശ്രയിക്കുന്നവൻ—അവൻ എല്ലാ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിലും സ്നാനം ചെയ്തവനും, എല്ലാ യാഗങ്ങളിലും ദീക്ഷിതനുമായും, എല്ലാ വ്രതങ്ങളും അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചവനുമായും തുല്യൻ ആകുന്നു.
Skanda
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī)
Type: ghat
Scene: A devotee stands waist-deep in Gaṅgā at a Kāśī ghāṭa; above him appear visionary vignettes—many tīrthas, sacrificial fires with dīkṣā, and diverse vrata observances—collapsing into a single radiant stream labeled ‘Gaṅgā-sevā’.
FAQs
Single-pointed devotion to the Gaṅgā can equal the accumulated merit of many dispersed rituals and pilgrimages.
The Gaṅgā (in the Kāśī frame), called the supreme substitute for all tīrtha-bathing.
Gaṅgā-niṣevā (resorting to/serving the Gaṅgā) is upheld as a meritorious practice comparable to dīkṣā for sacrifices and comprehensive vrata-observance.