Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महीपाल चाहल्येश्वरमुत्तमम् । यत्र सिद्धा महाभागा त्वहल्या तापसी पुरा
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchenmahīpāla cāhalyeśvaramuttamam | yatra siddhā mahābhāgā tvahalyā tāpasī purā
श्रीमार्कण्डेय म्हणाले—त्यानंतर, हे महीपाल! उत्तम चाहल्येश्वर तीर्थास जावे; जिथे पूर्वी महाभागा तापसी अहल्या सिद्ध झाली होती.
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Cāhalyeśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahīpāla (king)
Scene: Sage Mārkaṇḍeya instructs a king to proceed to Cāhalyeśvara; in the background a Śiva shrine near a river/forest, with Ahalyā depicted as an ascetic whose tapas culminates in siddhi (radiance, flowers falling, divine presence).
FAQs
Holy places are sanctified by the tapas and siddhi of great souls; visiting them is presented as a dharmic step on pilgrimage.
Cāhalyeśvara—an excellent Śaiva site connected with Ahalyā’s ascetic attainment.
Pilgrimage instruction: “one should go” (gacchet) to Cāhalyeśvara; no specific rite is detailed in this verse.