Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
रहस्यं परमं देवि तीर्थानां प्रवरं हि तत् । पूर्वं कृतयुगे देवि प्रेततीर्थं च संस्मृतम् । कलौ युगे तु संप्राप्ते गात्रोत्सर्गमिति त्वभूत्
rahasyaṃ paramaṃ devi tīrthānāṃ pravaraṃ hi tat | pūrvaṃ kṛtayuge devi pretatīrthaṃ ca saṃsmṛtam | kalau yuge tu saṃprāpte gātrotsargamiti tvabhūt
Wahai Devī, inilah rahsia yang tertinggi, bahkan yang paling utama antara segala tīrtha. Pada zaman Kṛta dahulu, ia dikenang sebagai “Preta-tīrtha”; namun apabila Kali-yuga tiba, ia dikenali sebagai “Gātrotsarga”.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Preta-tīrtha / Gātrotsarga (yuga-wise names)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Śiva discloses a ‘parama-rahasya’: the foremost tīrtha once called Preta-tīrtha in Kṛta-yuga, now known as Gātrotsarga in Kali-yuga—two names hovering like inscriptions over the same sacred landscape.
FAQs
The sanctity of a place is timeless, yet its names and modes of access are narrated as adapting to yuga-conditions, guiding seekers in each era.
The tīrtha known as Preta-tīrtha in Kṛta-yuga and as Gātrotsarga in Kali-yuga.
No explicit ritual; the verse explains the tīrtha’s status and yuga-specific naming tradition.