Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
अद्येयं कार्तिकी पुण्या कृत्तिकायोगसंयुता । यस्यां स्नाने नरैः श्रेयः प्राप्यते पुष्करोदके । आद्यं तु पुष्करं दूरे न गन्तुं शक्यतेऽधुना
adyeyaṃ kārtikī puṇyā kṛttikāyogasaṃyutā | yasyāṃ snāne naraiḥ śreyaḥ prāpyate puṣkarodake | ādyaṃ tu puṣkaraṃ dūre na gantuṃ śakyate'dhunā
“วันนี้เป็นวันการ์ตติกีอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์ ประกอบด้วยกฤตติกาโยค; ในวันนี้ มนุษย์ทั้งหลายย่อมได้ศุภผลด้วยการอาบน้ำในน้ำปุษกร แต่ปุษกรเดิมนั้นอยู่ไกล บัดนี้ไปถึงไม่ได้”
Viśvāmitra (embedded thought/utterance reported by Sūta)
Tirtha: Puṣkaratraya / Puṣkara-udaka (local manifestation)
Type: kund
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Viśvāmitra speaks to himself in resolve: the sky marked by Kṛttikā stars, three lotus-filled pools nearby; a distant horizon suggests faraway Puṣkara, unreachable now.
FAQs
When sacred time arrives, one should not miss dharma due to distance; a nearby sanctified tīrtha can confer the intended merit.
Puṣkara waters in the local Puṣkara-traya, contrasted with the distant “Ādya Puṣkara.”
Kārttikī bathing in Puṣkara water—especially under the Kṛttikā conjunction—is said to yield śreyas (spiritual good).