Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26
भद्र उवाच । तीर्थानि तोयपूर्णानि देवाः पाषाणमृन्मयाः । आत्मस्थं ये न पश्यंति ते न पश्यंति तत्परम्
bhadra uvāca | tīrthāni toyapūrṇāni devāḥ pāṣāṇamṛnmayāḥ | ātmasthaṃ ye na paśyaṃti te na paśyaṃti tatparam
Bhadra berkata: “Tīrtha hanyalah air yang penuh air; para dewa hanyalah arca batu atau tanah liat. Mereka yang tidak melihat Yang Tertinggi bersemayam dalam Diri—mereka itulah yang tidak benar-benar melihat Yang Paling Utama.”
Bhadra
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (as discourse setting)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Bhadra teaches: foreground shows a river-tīrtha and a stone/clay deity image; behind/within the devotee’s chest glows a subtle inner deity (antar-yāmin), indicating the Supreme within the Self.
FAQs
External pilgrimage and icon-worship become spiritually complete only when one recognizes the Supreme within the Self.
It generalizes about tīrthas within the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra discourse, emphasizing inner realization as the essence of tīrtha.
No specific rite; it reframes ritual and pilgrimage as requiring inner vision (ātma-darśana) to reach the Highest.