Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
सूत उवाच । अथान्यदपि तत्रास्ति मुखारं तीर्थमुत्तमम् । यत्र ते मुनयः श्रेष्ठा विप्राश्चौरेण संगताः । यत्र सिद्धिं समापन्नः स चौरस्तत्प्रभावतः । वाल्मीकिरिति विख्यातो रामायणनिबंधकृत्
sūta uvāca | athānyadapi tatrāsti mukhāraṃ tīrthamuttamam | yatra te munayaḥ śreṣṭhā viprāścaureṇa saṃgatāḥ | yatra siddhiṃ samāpannaḥ sa caurastatprabhāvataḥ | vālmīkiriti vikhyāto rāmāyaṇanibaṃdhakṛt
Sūta berkata: “Di sana juga ada satu lagi tempat suci tertinggi bernama Mukhāra Tīrtha—di mana para muni terunggul dan para brāhmaṇa bertemu seorang pencuri; dan pencuri itu, oleh kuasa tīrtha tersebut, mencapai siddhi lalu masyhur sebagai Vālmīki, penggubah Rāmāyaṇa.”
Sūta
Tirtha: Mukhāra Tīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (implied Sūta-saṃvāda frame)
Scene: A sacred ford/pond named Mukhāra: serene water, sages and brāhmaṇas gathered; a fearful thief approaches; a luminous shift as he is purified—hinting at the future poet Vālmīki with a palm-leaf manuscript aura.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s grace can transform even a sinner into a siddha, illustrating dharma’s power of redemption.
Mukhāra Tīrtha, praised as the place connected with Vālmīki’s attainment.
No explicit rite is stated; the verse highlights the tīrtha’s inherent spiritual efficacy (prabhāva).