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
И особенно в месяц Картика тем, кто покорил свои чувства, следует совершать омовение. О лучший из брахманов, в месяце Картика все боги — вместе с Индрой — приходят в Айодхью, чтобы омыться, и прежде всего у Гопратары.
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.