Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 45
देहं सुपुष्टं विजरं च यौवनं लब्ध्वा न गंगादिषु यांति ये नराः । माता पिता नो न सुतो न बांधवो भार्या स्वसा नो दुहिता न विद्यते
dehaṃ supuṣṭaṃ vijaraṃ ca yauvanaṃ labdhvā na gaṃgādiṣu yāṃti ye narāḥ | mātā pitā no na suto na bāṃdhavo bhāryā svasā no duhitā na vidyate
ผู้ใดได้กายอันสมบูรณ์แข็งแรงและวัยหนุ่มอันปราศจากความเสื่อมแล้ว แต่ไม่ไปยังคงคาและสายน้ำศักดิ์สิทธิ์ทั้งหลาย—ผู้นั้นประหนึ่งว่าไม่มีมารดา ไม่มีบิดา ไม่มีบุตร ไม่มีญาติ; ไม่มีภรรยา ไม่มีพี่น้องสตรี ไม่มีธิดาเลย
Sūta (deduced)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Prabhāsa-kṣetra) with archetypal reference to Gaṅgā and other tīrthas
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A youthful pilgrim stands at a crossroads: behind him a prosperous household scene fades into shadow; ahead, luminous sacred waters with Gaṅgā iconography and distant Prabhāsa shrines beckon, suggesting that neglect severs one from familial and spiritual continuity.
FAQs
Human strength and youth are meant for dharma; neglecting pilgrimage to sacred waters is portrayed as a profound squander of life’s support system.
Gaṅgā and allied tīrthas are explicitly praised; within Prabhāsa’s Vastrāpatha māhātmya, this supports the broader tīrtha culture of sacred travel.
Tīrtha-yātrā to Gaṅgā and other sacred places is prescribed; snāna (ritual bathing) is strongly implied by the context of rivers/tīrthas.