Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48
भ्रांतोऽहं भूतले यानि तीर्थान्यायतनानि च । नचैष मेध्यतां प्राप्तः परिश्रांतोस्मि सांप्रतम्
bhrāṃto'haṃ bhūtale yāni tīrthānyāyatanāni ca | nacaiṣa medhyatāṃ prāptaḥ pariśrāṃtosmi sāṃpratam
पृथ्वीवरील जितकी तीर्थे व पवित्र आयतने आहेत, ती सर्व मी फिरून आलो; तरीही याला मेध्यता प्राप्त झाली नाही. आता मी अत्यंत थकलो आहे.
Viśvāmitra
Listener: (unnamed interlocutor)
Scene: A travel-worn Viśvāmitra, dust on garments, staff in hand, stands amid a montage of shrines and river-fords; Triśaṅku remains unchanged, emphasizing the frustration of unfulfilled purification.
FAQs
Not all obstacles dissolve through mere travel; the right sacred locus and the right rite, approached with faith, are emphasized in tīrthamāhātmya literature.
The verse contrasts many tīrthas with the yet-to-be-disclosed extraordinary kṣetra that will accomplish the purification.
General pilgrimage to tīrthas and āyatanas is referenced, but no specific rite is prescribed in this verse.