Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 77
तीर्थमन्यैरिति ख्यातं बालकानां हितावहम् । रोगार्तानां भयार्तानामस्माकं वचनात्सदा
tīrthamanyairiti khyātaṃ bālakānāṃ hitāvaham | rogārtānāṃ bhayārtānāmasmākaṃ vacanātsadā
இந்தத் தீர்த்தம் பிறரிடையிலும் குழந்தைகளுக்கு நலமளிப்பதாகப் புகழ்பெறும்—எங்கள் வாக்கினால் எப்போதும்—நோயால் துன்புறுவோருக்கும் பயத்தால் துன்புறுவோருக்கும்।
Ṛṣis (the sages)
Tirtha: Bālasakhya-tīrtha (also ‘tīrtham anyair iti khyātam’)
Type: ghat
Listener: Dvija addressed earlier; broader pilgrim audience implied
Scene: Pilgrims arrive with sick or frightened children; sages proclaim the tīrtha’s fame as ‘balakānāṃ hitāvaham’; the river-ghāṭa and shrine form a compassionate sanctuary.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s greatness is measured by compassion—its power to relieve suffering, especially for vulnerable children.
Bālasakhya-tīrtha (the child-welfare tīrtha) in Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
Implied use of the tīrtha for relief—contextually fulfilled through bathing (snāna) described in the next verses.