Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2
संकर्षणमिति ख्यातं पृथिव्यां पापनाशनम् । तपश्चीर्णं पुरा राजन्बलभद्रेण तत्र वै
saṃkarṣaṇamiti khyātaṃ pṛthivyāṃ pāpanāśanam | tapaścīrṇaṃ purā rājanbalabhadreṇa tatra vai
हे राजन्, ते स्थान पृथ्वीवर ‘संकर्षण’ म्हणून ख्यात आहे, पापनाशक. तेथे प्राचीन काळी बलभद्राने खरोखर तप केले.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Mārkaṇḍeya continuing instruction)
Tirtha: Saṃkarṣaṇa
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (rājan)
Scene: A serene riverbank grove where Balabhadra performed austerities: Balarāma with plough (hala) and palm-flag (tāla-dhvaja) set aside, seated in meditation; the Narmadā flows nearby, the air charged with purification.
FAQs
Holy places sanctified by tapas (austerity) become powerful for pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sin) and uplift pilgrims.
A tīrtha known as “Saṃkarṣaṇa,” within the Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape.
No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse establishes the tīrtha’s fame and Balabhadra’s austerity as its sanctifying basis.