Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32
तीर्थलक्षं विदुः पूर्वे कपिलायास्तु सङ्गमे । स्वर्गस्य नरकस्यापि लक्षणं मुनिभाषितम्
tīrthalakṣaṃ viduḥ pūrve kapilāyāstu saṅgame | svargasya narakasyāpi lakṣaṇaṃ munibhāṣitam
முன்னோர் கபிலா சங்கமத்தில் தீர்த்தத்தின் இலக்கணத்தை அறிந்தனர். சொர்க்கமும் நரகமும் ஆகிய இரண்டின் இலக்கணங்களையும் முனிவர்கள் உரைத்தனர்.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced for Āvantya/Revā narrative style)
Tirtha: Kapilā-saṅgama (tīrtha-lakṣaṇa teaching spot)
Type: sangam
Listener: munis (as the speaking authority referenced) and pilgrims (implied audience)
Scene: At Kapilā-saṅgama, seated sages teach a circle of pilgrims; behind them the confluence glows; in the sky or as side-panels appear symbolic ‘svarga’ (light, ascent, devas) and ‘naraka’ (darkness, chains) as moral allegories rather than graphic torture.
FAQs
A true tīrtha is not only a location but a dharmic ‘crossing’—a place where right understanding and conduct lead toward higher states (svarga) and away from downfall (naraka).
The Kapilā confluence (Kapilā-saṅgama) is highlighted as a paradigmatic setting for understanding what makes a place a tīrtha.
No specific rite is stated; the verse signals doctrinal teaching about tīrtha, svarga, and naraka.