Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20
सरिदुवाच । प्रलये समनुप्राप्ते नष्टे स्थावरजंगमे । प्रसादात्तव देवेश अक्षयाहं भवे प्रभो
sariduvāca | pralaye samanuprāpte naṣṭe sthāvarajaṃgame | prasādāttava deveśa akṣayāhaṃ bhave prabho
নদীয়ে ক’লে: “যেতিয়া প্ৰলয় আহে আৰু স্থাৱৰ-জংগম সকলো নষ্ট হয়, হে দেৱেশ, তোমাৰ প্ৰসাদে, হে প্ৰভু, মই অক্ষয় হৈ থাকোঁ।”
Sarid (the River-goddess; Revā/Narmadā in context)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) as Akṣayā
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śiva (addressed as Devēśa/Prabhu); king as narrative audience
Scene: A cosmic pralaya backdrop—dark waters and dissolving worlds—contrasted with the river-goddess praying to Śiva for imperishability; Śiva stands calm, transcendent, granting refuge.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s holiness is framed as enduring not merely geographically, but cosmically—rooted in divine grace beyond dissolution.
Revā/Narmadā is presented as an imperishable sacred river-tīrtha.
None directly; it is a prayer for akṣayatva (imperishability) that undergirds later claims about bathing-merit.