Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14
भूमिभागाः पवित्राः स्युः कीर्त्यते तीर्थमित्युत । तेषां संदर्शनादेव स्मरणाच्चावगाहनात् । मुच्यंते जन्तवः पापैरपि जन्मशतोद्भवैः
bhūmibhāgāḥ pavitrāḥ syuḥ kīrtyate tīrthamityuta | teṣāṃ saṃdarśanādeva smaraṇāccāvagāhanāt | mucyaṃte jantavaḥ pāpairapi janmaśatodbhavaiḥ
ผืนแผ่นดินบางส่วนย่อมบริสุทธิ์แท้ จึงสรรเสริญว่าเป็น ‘ทีรถะ’ เพียงได้เห็น ได้ระลึกถึง และได้อาบ/ดำลง ณ ที่นั้น สรรพสัตว์ย่อมพ้นบาป แม้บาปที่สั่งสมมาหลายร้อยชาติ
Īśvara (Śiva)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārvatī (addressed as ‘sarvāṅgasundarī’ in the passage)
Scene: A pilgrim approaches a radiant tīrtha on earth; the very ground glows with sanctity. Three acts are shown in sequence—seeing the waters, remembering with folded hands, and immersing—while dark stains (sins) dissolve into light.
FAQs
Tīrthas sanctify through multiple modes—seeing, remembering, and bathing—showing how sacred geography works through both body and mind.
The verse speaks generally of tīrtha-regions (bhūmibhāgāḥ) rather than naming a particular river or shrine.
Avagāhana (ritual bathing/immersion) at a tīrtha, along with darśana (visiting) and smaraṇa (remembrance).