Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1
उत्तानपाद उवाच । अन्यच्च श्रोतुमिच्छामि केन गङ्गावतारिता । रुद्रशीर्षे स्थिता देवी पुण्या कथमिहागता
uttānapāda uvāca | anyacca śrotumicchāmi kena gaṅgāvatāritā | rudraśīrṣe sthitā devī puṇyā kathamihāgatā
উত্তানপাদ বললেন—আমি আরও শুনতে চাই: কে গঙ্গাকে অবতীর্ণ করল? আর রুদ্রের শিরে অধিষ্ঠিতা পবিত্রা দেবী পুণ্যা কীভাবে এখানে এলেন?
Uttānapāda
Tirtha: Gaṅgā-avatāra kathā; Devī Puṇyā (local sacred presence)
Type: river
Scene: King Uttānapāda, seated in a respectful posture, asks a sage about Gaṅgā’s descent and about the holy goddess Puṇyā’s presence; in the background, a visionary tableau shows Gaṅgā poised in Śiva’s matted locks.
FAQs
Sacred geography is rooted in divine history: the holiness of rivers and sites is explained through the actions of gods and the grace of Śiva.
The question introduces the Puṇyā/Devāśilā sacred context within the Revā Khaṇḍa, linked to Gaṅgā’s divine positioning on Rudra’s head.
None in this verse; it initiates a narrative inquiry that will ground later tīrtha merits and practices.
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