Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27
नर्मदातोयपूतेन भस्मनोद्धूलयन्ति ये । सद्यस्ते पापसङ्घाच्च मुच्यन्ते नात्र संशयः
narmadātoyapūtena bhasmanoddhūlayanti ye | sadyaste pāpasaṅghācca mucyante nātra saṃśayaḥ
Wer sich mit heiliger Asche bestreicht, die durch die Wasser der Narmadā gereinigt ist, wird sogleich von Haufen von Sünden befreit — daran besteht kein Zweifel.
Śaṅkara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)
Type: river
Scene: On the Narmadā ghāṭa, a devotee after bathing smears ash purified with river water; luminous river current behind, sins depicted as dark smoke dispersing.
FAQs
Contact with Narmadā-sanctified substances (here, sacred ash) is presented as a rapid purifier that burns away accumulated sin.
The Revā (Narmadā) Tīrtha tradition—Narmadā as a sanctifying sacred river within the Revā Khaṇḍa.
Smearing the body with bhasma (sacred ash) that has been purified with Narmadā water.