Skanda Purana 16.304

The Lord said: / Then one should go, O Great Goddess, to the Gaṅgā that courses through the three paths, / situated to the northeast of Saṅgāleśa at a distance of seven bow-lengths. (1)

In it there are three-eyed fish, perpetual water-dwellers, O dear one; / they are visible even in the Kali age: it is the truth, the truth that I have spoken. (2)

Having bathed in it, O Great Goddess, one is freed from the five [great] sins. (3)

Sūta said: / Having heard those words of his, the chaste daughter of the mountain was amazed / and spoke, O best of brahmins, to him who wears the trembling moon on his crest. (4)

Pārvatī said: / How did the Gaṅgā that courses through the three paths arrive there? / How did the aquatic fish come to have three eyes, O Śiva? (5)

Tell this in detail, O All-pervading Lord, if I am dear to you. (6)

The Lord said: / Listen, O Goddess; I will explain if you ask me, O auspicious one. / My thought is that they are faithful and full of faith. (7)

When Mahādeva was cursed by the seers shrouded in the darkness of ignorance / and filled with wrath, on account of some underlying cause, (8)

then all those sages, knowing Maheśvara to be cursed, / and seeing the entire world and their own selves devoid of joy, (9)

propitiated the Supreme Lord who was bearing the form of an elephant; / having led him to an elevated place, the twice-born made it full of joy. (7.1.304.10)

From then on, they all constantly considered themselves / to be the worst traitors against Śiva, even though Maheśvara was pleased.

They all came swiftly from Mahodaya to the great sacred ford, / and performed fierce austerity near Saṃgāleśvara.

Having duly worshipped the [liṅga] named Saṃgāleśvara, / Bhṛgu, Atri, Maṅki, Kaśyapa, and Kaṇva,

Gautama, Kauśika, Kuśika of great austerity, / Śūkara, then Bharadvāja, and Bhārgavi of great austerity,

Jātūkarṇya, Vasiṣṭha, Sāvarṇi, Parāśara, / Śāṇḍilya, Pulastya, and Vatsa of great austerity,

these and many other countless great seers,

having reached Saṃgāleśvara in sin-destroying Prabhāsa, / constantly performed austerity after installing Maheśvara.

Then, after a long time, all those foremost sages, / because of meditating on the Three-eyed Lord though Maheśvara was not visible,

attained three-eyed state, intent on austerity, rich in austerity. / Looking at one another in the belief that [the other was] the Three-eyed Lord,

they praised [one another] with various hymns, thinking each to be Maheśvara. / Knowing through meditation on the god that they had attained three-eyedness,

they performed fierce austerity and worship of the trident-bearing god. / As they were performing austerity, Maheśvara was filled with compassion,

and said to all those sages: 'Listen to an excellent boon! / Best of sages, I am pleased by your austerity and your worship.'

The seers said: / 'If you are pleased, Lord of gods, you should grant us a boon: / Bring Gaṅgā swiftly for our ablution, O Hara!

Having performed ablution in her, we who committed treason against you / out of ignorance shall attain purity on the surface of the earth.'

Īśvara said: / 'You are makers of purity, and purifiers of the pure. / I shall indeed bring Gaṅgā for your heart's satisfaction.

Your possession of three eyes has arisen from your purity, O best of sages.' / Having spoken thus, Śambhu, his eyes motionless in meditation, / remembered in a mere moment Gaṅgā, crowded with schools of fish.

As soon as she was remembered, the goddess Gaṅgā, flowing in three streams, / broke through the surface of the earth and arrived there, crowded with schools of fish.

And when the auspicious Gaṅgā accompanied by fish was seen by the seers, / those fish, as soon as they were seen, attained three-eyedness.

Īśvara said: / 'From your darśana, O brahmins, they have attained three-eyedness. / All this is an exemplar and an instruction for the worlds.'

The seers said: / 'O Mahādeva, in this pool may the progeny of fish always / be three-eyed in every age by your grace!

Whatever man comes to this pool and performs a ritual ablution, / gives gold to a brahmin, and cows, cloth, and sesame seeds,

especially on the new moon, may he become three-eyed!' / Saying 'So shall it be,' Hara vanished.

The brahmins, filled with satisfaction, all went to Mahodaya.

This excellent māhātmya of Gaṅgā has been told to you, O goddess; / when heard, it pacifies sin and bestows the fruits of all desires.

Thus ends the three hundred and fourth chapter, named 'Description of the Māhātmya of Gaṅgā Situated near Saṃgāleśvara', in the First Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya, in the Seventh Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.