Skandapurana 3.1.53.21

3.1.53.21

18 atha rāmakuṇḍākhyatīrthamāhātmyavarṇanam, tatprasaṃgenāgastyaśiṣyasutīkṣṇamunītihāsa-varṇanam, rāmacandrasarastīrthe tapastapatā sutīkṣṇena śrīrāmacandrastutikaraṇam, evaṃ tapastapataḥ sutīkṣṇasyālaukikatapaḥsiddhivarṇanaprasaṃgena rāmakuṇḍamāhātmyavarṇanam, rāmakuṇḍatīre rāmasthāpitaśrīśivaliṅgamāhātmyavarṇanam, tatprasaṃgena dharmaputrasya yudhiṣṭhirasyāsatyabhāṣaṇadoṣanivṛttivṛttāntavarṇanam, tatra bhāratayuddhe droṇaṃ jetuṃ keśavena bhīmadvārā 'aśvatthāmā yuddhe hataḥ iti mṛṣā pravādaprasaraṇam, taṃ pravāda-mākarṇya droṇena yudhiṣṭhirādapi tathaiveti śrutvā satyaṃ matvā yogena svatanutyāga-karaṇam, tasminkāle sadaiva satyabhāṣiṇo yudhiṣṭhirasya mṛṣāpravādajanitapātaka-prāptiḥ, tasya ca yuddhasamāptyanantaraṃ rājyābhiṣekasamaye nabhovāṇyā cchadmanā'-satyabhāṣaṇajanitapātakena rājyābhiṣekānarhatākathanam, yudhiṣṭhireṇa paścāttāpakara-ṇam, tasminnavasare samāgatena vyāsamaharṣiṇā yudhiṣṭhiraṃ prati dakṣiṇodadhitīrastha-rāmatīrthe snānārthamupadeśakaraṇam, tato yudhiṣṭhireṇa nijakaniṣṭhabandhuṃ sahadevaṃ rājye pratiṣṭhāpya dhaumyenopādhyāyena bhīmādibhirnijānujaiśca saha rāmasetuṃ samuddiśya vāhanārohaṇaṃ vinā yātrāvidhinā rāmatīrtha samāsādya purohitoktamārgeṇa snāna- karaṇam, tena rāmatīrthasnānadānaśrāddhamāsopavāsādiprabhāveṇa nabhovāṇyā yudhi-ṣṭhirasyāsatyabhāṣaṇajanita pātakanivṛttipūrvaka rājyārohaṇayogyatāvarṇanam rāmaku-ṇḍākhyatīrthamāhātmyam . 33 1

18. Now follows the description of the māhātmya of the sacred ford named Rāmakuṇḍa. In connection with that, the description of the legend of the sage Sutīkṣṇa, a disciple of Agastya: the hymn of praise to the venerable Rāmacandra by Sutīkṣṇa as he performed austerity at the sacred ford of Rāmacandrasaras; in connection with describing such extraordinary perfection in austerity of Sutīkṣṇa as he performed austerity, the description of the māhātmya of Rāmakuṇḍa; the description of the māhātmya of the venerable Śivaliṅga established by Rāma on the bank of Rāmakuṇḍa; in connection with that, the description of the account of the removal of the fault of telling an untruth by Yudhiṣṭhira, son of Dharma: there, in the Bhārata war, in order to defeat Droṇa, a false rumor was spread by Keśava through Bhīma that 'Aśvatthāman has been slain in battle'; hearing that rumor, Droṇa, hearing likewise even from Yudhiṣṭhira, believed it to be true and relinquished his own body through yoga; at that time, sin generated from a false statement attached to Yudhiṣṭhira, who was always a speaker of truth; and after the conclusion of the war, at the time of his royal consecration, a voice from the sky declared his unfitness for royal consecration due to the sin arising from speaking an untruth deceitfully; Yudhiṣṭhira felt remorse; on that occasion the great seer Vyāsa arrived and instructed Yudhiṣṭhira to bathe in the Rāmatīrtha situated on the shore of the southern ocean; then Yudhiṣṭhira, having established his youngest brother Sahadeva on the throne, set out for Rāmasetu without mounting a chariot or mount, accompanied by his preceptor Dhaumya and his younger brothers headed by Bhīma, following the prescribed rules of pilgrimage; having reached Rāmatīrtha, he performed his ritual ablution according to the path instructed by the family priest; thereby, through the power of the ritual ablution, gifts, ancestral rites, month-long fasts, and other acts at Rāmatīrtha, a voice from the sky described the removal of Yudhiṣṭhira's sin born of untruthful speech and his eligibility to ascend the throne. The māhātmya of the sacred ford named Rāmakuṇḍa. ... [Chapters] 33–34.