Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
तत्र तिष्ठति देवेशः साक्षाद्रुद्रो महेश्वरः । भारेण महता जातो भारभूतिरिति स्मृतः
tatra tiṣṭhati deveśaḥ sākṣādrudro maheśvaraḥ | bhāreṇa mahatā jāto bhārabhūtiriti smṛtaḥ
Di sana bersemayam Tuhan para dewa, Maheśvara—Rudra sendiri yang hadir nyata. Oleh sebab suatu ‘beban’ (bhāra) yang besar, Baginda dikenang dengan nama Bhārabhūti.
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Bhārabhūti (tīrtha/kṣetra epithet at/near Kṣamānātha)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: On the riverbank stands a self-manifest Śiva presence—either a radiant liṅga or anthropomorphic Rudra with trident—surrounded by ascetics; the air feels weighty yet liberating, hinting at the ‘great burden’ that gave the name Bhārabhūti.
FAQs
A tīrtha becomes supremely sanctified where Śiva is present ‘in person’; divine presence is the heart of sthala-māhātmya.
The locale where Maheśvara is present and associated with the epithet Bhārabhūti—i.e., Bhārabhūti Tīrtha.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse identifies the deity and the name-origin that grounds the tīrtha’s greatness.