Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11
गङ्गोवाच । नास्ति मे भगवञ्छक्ति रौर्वं वोढुं जगत्पते । रौद्ररूपी महानेष दहत्येवानलो भृशम्
gaṅgovāca | nāsti me bhagavañchakti raurvaṃ voḍhuṃ jagatpate | raudrarūpī mahāneṣa dahatyevānalo bhṛśam
قالت غَنْغا: «يا ربَّنا المبارك، يا سيّد العوالم، ليست لي قدرةٌ على حمل نارِ رَوْرَفَا. إنّ هذه الشعلة العظيمة، ذات الهيئة الرهيبة، تحرق احتراقًا شديدًا».
Gaṅgā
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Sarasvatī-samudra-saṅgama complex in Prabhāsa)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Jagatpati (the Lord; contextually Janārdana/Vişṇu)
Scene: Personified Gaṅgā, radiant yet distressed, addresses the Lord amid a cosmic scene where a terrifying subterranean ‘Raurva/Vāḍava’ flame surges like a sea-born fire; devas watch anxiously as the world’s balance trembles.
FAQs
Even sacred powers acknowledge limits; dharma includes discerning what one can and cannot safely bear.
The broader Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative is being unfolded; the verse also reinforces Gaṅgā’s sanctity by her truthful discernment.
None; it is a dialogue emphasizing the severity of the fire and the need for a suitable carrier.