Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 110
गन्धर्वाप्सरसो नागाः खुराग्रेषु व्यवस्थिताः । पृथिव्यां सागरान्तायां यानि तीर्थानि भारत । तानि सर्वाणि जानीयाद्गौर्गव्यं तेन पावनम्
gandharvāpsaraso nāgāḥ khurāgreṣu vyavasthitāḥ | pṛthivyāṃ sāgarāntāyāṃ yāni tīrthāni bhārata | tāni sarvāṇi jānīyādgaurgavyaṃ tena pāvanam
گندھرو، اپسرائیں اور ناگ اس کے کھروں کی نوکوں پر مقیم ہیں۔ اے بھارت، زمین پر سمندروں سے گھری جتنی بھی تیرتھ ہیں، انہیں سب گائے ہی میں موجود جان؛ اسی لیے گائے سے نکلنے والی ہر چیز پاک کرنے والی ہے۔
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from nearby dialogue context)
Tirtha: Go (as sarva-tīrtha-ādhāra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (Bhārata)
Scene: A majestic cow stands with luminous hoof-tips where Gandharvas, Apsarases, and Nāgas appear as tiny divine beings; around her, miniature icons of famous tirthas encircle the earth, implying their presence within her.
FAQs
Sacred geography culminates in a portable sanctity: the cow is portrayed as containing all tīrthas, making service to her a concentrated form of merit.
All tīrthas collectively are invoked; the verse universalizes pilgrimage-merit through Gau-māhātmya.
An implied endorsement of using and honoring gavya (cow-derived substances) as purifying, grounded in their tīrtha-equivalence.