Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
अद्येयं कार्तिकी पुण्या कृत्तिकायोगसंयुता । यस्यां स्नाने नरैः श्रेयः प्राप्यते पुष्करोदके । आद्यं तु पुष्करं दूरे न गन्तुं शक्यतेऽधुना
adyeyaṃ kārtikī puṇyā kṛttikāyogasaṃyutā | yasyāṃ snāne naraiḥ śreyaḥ prāpyate puṣkarodake | ādyaṃ tu puṣkaraṃ dūre na gantuṃ śakyate'dhunā
“आज पुण्य कार्तिकी, कृत्तिकायोगयुक्त आहे; या दिवशी पुष्करजलात स्नान केल्याने नरांना श्रेय प्राप्त होते. पण आद्य पुष्कर दूर आहे; आता तेथे जाणे शक्य नाही।”
Viśvāmitra (embedded thought/utterance reported by Sūta)
Tirtha: Puṣkaratraya / Puṣkara-udaka (local manifestation)
Type: kund
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Viśvāmitra speaks to himself in resolve: the sky marked by Kṛttikā stars, three lotus-filled pools nearby; a distant horizon suggests faraway Puṣkara, unreachable now.
FAQs
When sacred time arrives, one should not miss dharma due to distance; a nearby sanctified tīrtha can confer the intended merit.
Puṣkara waters in the local Puṣkara-traya, contrasted with the distant “Ādya Puṣkara.”
Kārttikī bathing in Puṣkara water—especially under the Kṛttikā conjunction—is said to yield śreyas (spiritual good).