Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 180
कार्तिक्यां च विशेषेण स्नातव्यं विजितेन्द्रियैः । कार्तिके मासि विप्रर्षे सर्वे देवाः सवासवाः । स्नातुमायान्त्ययोध्यायां गोप्रतारे विशेषतः
kārtikyāṃ ca viśeṣeṇa snātavyaṃ vijitendriyaiḥ | kārtike māsi viprarṣe sarve devāḥ savāsavāḥ | snātumāyāntyayodhyāyāṃ gopratāre viśeṣataḥ
Terutama pada bulan Kārtikā, mereka yang telah menaklukkan indera hendaklah mandi suci. Wahai brāhmaṇa yang terbaik, pada bulan Kārtika semua dewa—bersama Indra—datang ke Ayodhyā untuk mandi, terutamanya di Gopratāra.
Brahmā (deduced: Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa tīrtha-māhātmya instruction to a brāhmaṇa interlocutor)
Tirtha: Gopratāra
Type: ghat
Listener: viprārṣa / best of brāhmaṇas (addressed)
Scene: Kārtika dawn at Gopratāra: a celestial procession of devas led by Indra descends to the Sarayū ghāṭ; disciplined pilgrims bathe alongside, lamps flicker, and the river shines with divine presence.
FAQs
Kārtika is a uniquely potent sacred period; sense-control plus tīrtha-snānā yields exceptional merit.
Gopratāra Tīrtha in Ayodhyā, highlighted as a favored bathing place even for the devas.
Bathing during Kārtika, ideally by those practicing indriya-jaya (sense-restraint), specifically at Gopratāra.