Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 48
बृहस्पतिं सुरगुरुं पप्रच्छुर्विनयान्विताः । म्लेच्छसंसर्गजो दोषो गंगयापि न पूयते
bṛhaspatiṃ suraguruṃ papracchurvinayānvitāḥ | mlecchasaṃsargajo doṣo gaṃgayāpi na pūyate
ด้วยความนอบน้อม เทพทั้งหลายทูลถามพระพฤหัสปติ ผู้เป็นครูแห่งเทวะว่า: “โทษอันเกิดจากการคบหามเลจฉะนั้น แม้ด้วยคงคาค็หาได้ชำระให้บริสุทธิ์ไม่”
Devas (addressing Bṛhaspati), as narrated by Prahlāda
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (referenced) / (unnamed) Kali-vivarjita tīrtha sought
Type: river
Listener: dvijāḥ
Scene: Devas stand with folded hands before Bṛhaspati, the sura-guru, asking a pointed question: how can a doṣa be beyond even Gaṅgā’s cleansing? A faint vision of Gaṅgā as a goddess appears as a reference point.
FAQs
It underscores the gravity of harmful association and the limits of external purification without inner and contextual sanctity.
Gaṅgā is mentioned as a supreme purifier, yet the narrative suggests the need for an even safer Kali-avoided place.
Implied is Gaṅgā-snān (bathing in the Gaṅgā) as a purifier, though the verse stresses its insufficiency for this specific ‘doṣa’.