Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10
तावद्द्विजानि गर्जंति तावद्गर्जति पातकम् । तावत्तीर्थान्यनेकानि यावद्भक्तिं न विंदति
tāvaddvijāni garjaṃti tāvadgarjati pātakam | tāvattīrthānyanekāni yāvadbhaktiṃ na viṃdati
यावद्भक्तिं न लभते तावद्द्विजा विवादगर्जितं कुर्वन्ति; तावदेव पातकं गर्जति; तावदेव तीर्थान्यनेकानि इव दृश्यन्ते।
Unknown (Tīrthamāhātmya context; internal narrator not provided in snippet)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A group of disputing brāhmaṇas ‘roaring’ in argument, while a dark personified Pātaka roars alongside; in contrast, a quiet devotee with tulasī-mālā and folded hands stands serene, and the many tīrthas appear as scattered river-ghāṭas fading into one luminous heart-lotus.
FAQs
Without bhakti, both sin and religious noise persist; devotion is presented as the key that fulfills the purpose of tīrtha.
The verse speaks generically of ‘many tīrthas’ and does not identify a single named location.
No specific rite is prescribed; the teaching is to attain bhakti, which gives pilgrimage its true fruit.