Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 79
मस्तके च तथाकाशं भूमौ च नवधा क्षिपेत् । भूमिशब्देन चरणावाकाशं हृदयं स्मृतम् । शिरस्येव शिरःशब्दो मार्जनं तैरुदाहृतम्
mastake ca tathākāśaṃ bhūmau ca navadhā kṣipet | bhūmiśabdena caraṇāvākāśaṃ hṛdayaṃ smṛtam | śirasyeva śiraḥśabdo mārjanaṃ tairudāhṛtam
Demikian juga, dengan penataan sembilan kali, letakkan ‘langit’ pada ubun-ubun dan ‘bumi’ pada tanah. Dengan istilah ‘bumi’ dimaksudkan kaki; dengan ‘langit’ difahami hati; dan dengan ‘kepala’ dimaksudkan kepala itu sendiri—demikianlah mārjana dihuraikan oleh mereka.
Unspecified (Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa ritual instruction; explanatory gloss)
Tirtha: Navadhā-mārjana (ninefold sprinkling)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Diagrammatic yet devotional scene: the practitioner with highlighted feet, heart, and crown; labels ‘bhūmi/ākāśa/śiras’ as subtle calligraphy; water droplets touching these loci in sequence.
FAQs
Sandhyā purification is both physical and symbolic, mapping ‘earth/sky/head’ to feet/heart/head to sanctify the whole person.
No particular tīrtha is praised; the focus is the correct understanding of mārjana symbolism.
Perform the ninefold mārjana placements and understand the intended correspondences: bhūmi = feet, ākāśa = heart, śiras = head.