Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 111
ब्रह्मोवाच । तीर्थयात्रां सुरश्रेष्ठ तदर्थं कर्तुमर्हसि । तया विना न ते पापं नाशमायाति कृत्स्नशः
brahmovāca | tīrthayātrāṃ suraśreṣṭha tadarthaṃ kartumarhasi | tayā vinā na te pāpaṃ nāśamāyāti kṛtsnaśaḥ
பிரம்மா கூறினார்—ஹே தேவர்களில் சிறந்தவனே! அதற்காக நீ தீர்த்தயாத்திரை மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும். அதின்றி உன் பாவம் முழுமையாக அழியாது।
Brahmā
Tirtha: General tīrtha-yātrā (Nāgara tīrtha-circuit; specific tīrtha likely detailed in subsequent verses)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Indra (Surśreṣṭha)
Scene: Brahmā instructs Indra with an authoritative yet compassionate gesture, pointing outward as if indicating a route across sacred landscapes; behind them, a stylized map-like band of rivers, ghats, and temples suggests pilgrimage.
FAQs
Sacred geography is a dharmic medicine: pilgrimage to tīrthas is upheld as a powerful means of complete purification.
This verse praises tīrthas in general rather than naming one location; it frames tīrthayātrā itself as the purifying path.
Tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage), implying repeated visits and sacred bathing (snāna) as the means to remove sin fully.