Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 69
ते वञ्चिताः पङ्गुजडान्धभूता लोकेषु मर्त्याः पशुभिश्च तुल्याः । ये नाश्रिता रुद्रशरीरभूतां सोपानपङ्क्तिं त्रिदिवस्य रेवाम्
te vañcitāḥ paṅgujaḍāndhabhūtā lokeṣu martyāḥ paśubhiśca tulyāḥ | ye nāśritā rudraśarīrabhūtāṃ sopānapaṅktiṃ tridivasya revām
Betrogen sind jene Sterblichen in den Welten—sie werden lahm, stumpf und blind und den Tieren gleich—die nicht Zuflucht nehmen zur Revā, dem eigenen Leib Rudras, der Stufenreihe, die als Treppe zum Himmel dient.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A symbolic tableau: Revā personified as a luminous river-goddess whose form merges with Rudra; along her bank appears a stairway of stone steps rising into clouds, while shadowy figures who ignore her appear dim, stumbling, and animal-like.
FAQs
Neglect of a supreme tīrtha is framed as spiritual blindness; refuge in Revā is portrayed as a direct ascent toward higher worlds.
Revā (Narmadā), explicitly identified as Rudra’s embodied sacred presence and a ‘stairway’ to heaven.
Āśraya (taking refuge/resorting) in Revā—pilgrimage, residence, and reverent dependence on the river’s sanctity.