Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16
एवं पापानि संयांति नाशं सर्वांगसुन्दरि । अपि ब्रह्मवधात्पापं यद्भवेदिह देहिनाम् । तच्चापि तीर्थसंसर्गात्प्रलयं यात्यसंशयम्
evaṃ pāpāni saṃyāṃti nāśaṃ sarvāṃgasundari | api brahmavadhātpāpaṃ yadbhavediha dehinām | taccāpi tīrthasaṃsargātpralayaṃ yātyasaṃśayam
Demikianlah dosa-dosa menuju kebinasaan, wahai yang elok seluruh anggota. Bahkan dosa yang timbul pada makhluk berjasad di sini akibat pembunuhan brahmana (brahma-vadha)—dosa itu pun, melalui sentuhan dengan tīrtha, lenyap tanpa ragu.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārvatī (addressed as ‘sarvāṅgasundarī’)
Scene: A dramatic allegory: a dark, heavy form labeled ‘brahmahatyā’ clings to an embodied being; upon touching the tīrtha waters, it crumbles into ash and vanishes, while the devotee stands purified under a shaft of light.
FAQs
Sacred places are depicted as transformative beyond ordinary moral accounting, emphasizing divine mercy mediated through tīrtha.
No particular tīrtha is named; the verse asserts the general doctrine of tīrtha-saṃsarga (contact with sacred places).
Tīrtha-saṃsarga—approaching and engaging a tīrtha (often via visit and bathing)—is recommended as the means of purification.