Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 111
ब्रह्मोवाच । तीर्थयात्रां सुरश्रेष्ठ तदर्थं कर्तुमर्हसि । तया विना न ते पापं नाशमायाति कृत्स्नशः
brahmovāca | tīrthayātrāṃ suraśreṣṭha tadarthaṃ kartumarhasi | tayā vinā na te pāpaṃ nāśamāyāti kṛtsnaśaḥ
Phạm Thiên nói: “Hỡi bậc tối thắng trong chư thiên, vì mục đích ấy, ngươi nên thực hành cuộc hành hương đến các thánh địa tīrtha. Không có điều đó, tội lỗi của ngươi sẽ không thể tiêu trừ hoàn toàn.”
Brahmā
Tirtha: General tīrtha-yātrā (Nāgara tīrtha-circuit; specific tīrtha likely detailed in subsequent verses)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Indra (Surśreṣṭha)
Scene: Brahmā instructs Indra with an authoritative yet compassionate gesture, pointing outward as if indicating a route across sacred landscapes; behind them, a stylized map-like band of rivers, ghats, and temples suggests pilgrimage.
FAQs
Sacred geography is a dharmic medicine: pilgrimage to tīrthas is upheld as a powerful means of complete purification.
This verse praises tīrthas in general rather than naming one location; it frames tīrthayātrā itself as the purifying path.
Tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage), implying repeated visits and sacred bathing (snāna) as the means to remove sin fully.