Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 33
यथायथा गिरिवरे समारोहंति मानवाः । तथातथा विमुच्यंते पातकैः सर्वदेहिनः
yathāyathā girivare samārohaṃti mānavāḥ | tathātathā vimucyaṃte pātakaiḥ sarvadehinaḥ
जसे जसे मनुष्य त्या श्रेष्ठ पर्वतावर चढतात, तसे तसे सर्व देहधारी पातकांपासून मुक्त होतात.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-girivara (the purifying mountain ascent)
Type: peak
Scene: A winding path up a sacred mountain with pilgrims at different heights; as they ascend, dark smoky ‘sin’ motifs dissolve into light around them, suggesting progressive purification.
FAQs
Effortful pilgrimage undertaken with faith becomes a means of pāpa-kṣaya (release from sin).
The ‘best of mountains’ within Vastrāpathakṣetra, praised in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa.
The act itself—ascending the sacred hill—is presented as a purifying observance.