Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 56
मंकण उवाच । येऽत्र स्नानं प्रकुर्वंति सरस्वत्यां समाहिताः । त्वत्प्रसादात्फलं तेषां राजसूयाश्वमेधयोः
maṃkaṇa uvāca | ye'tra snānaṃ prakurvaṃti sarasvatyāṃ samāhitāḥ | tvatprasādātphalaṃ teṣāṃ rājasūyāśvamedhayoḥ
Maṃkaṇa berkata: “Mereka yang dengan minda terhimpun mandi di sini, di Sungai Sarasvatī—dengan rahmat-Mu, semoga mereka memperoleh pahala setara dengan korban suci Rājasūya dan Aśvamedha.”
Maṃkaṇa
Tirtha: Sarasvatī-snāna tīrtha at the Gaṅgā–Sarasvatī saṅgama (as celebrated in this passage)
Type: sangam
Scene: On a luminous riverbank of Sarasvatī, the sage Maṃkaṇa speaks with folded hands, invoking the Lord’s grace; pilgrims stand ready for ritual bathing, with sacrificial imagery subtly suggested (yajña-kuṇḍa, banners) to indicate Rājasūya/Aśvamedha equivalence.
FAQs
Tīrtha-bathing done with mental concentration, empowered by divine grace, can confer great merit—showing the Purāṇic elevation of sacred places and devotion.
The Sarasvatī river at this ‘here’ (atra) location within the Arbuda Khaṇḍa’s sacred setting is praised as a powerful tīrtha.
Snāna (ritual bathing) in the Sarasvatī, performed with samādhāna/samāhita-citta (focused mind), is presented as the key observance.