Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24
कलापादिषु ग्रामेषु को वसेत विचक्षणः । यदि वासः स्तम्भतीर्थे क्षणार्धमपि लभ्यते
kalāpādiṣu grāmeṣu ko vaseta vicakṣaṇaḥ | yadi vāsaḥ stambhatīrthe kṣaṇārdhamapi labhyate
ผู้มีปัญญาคนใดจะพำนักในหมู่บ้านสามัญอย่างกาลาปาเป็นต้น หากเพียงได้อยู่ ณ สตัมภตีรถะ แม้ครึ่งขณะก็ยังประเสริฐยิ่ง?
Hārīta
Tirtha: Stambhatīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śātātapa and companions
Scene: A contrast tableau: humble village lanes labeled ‘Kalāpā’ in the distance, while the foreground shows Stambhatīrtha—perhaps marked by a sacred pillar (stambha), a small shrine, and pilgrims arriving with urgency, as if time itself is precious.
FAQs
Even minimal contact with a powerful tīrtha surpasses prolonged life in spiritually ordinary places.
Stambhatīrtha is explicitly praised as uniquely merit-giving.
The implied practice is tīrtha-vāsa (staying/residing at the sacred site), even briefly, for accruing puṇya.