Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4
के ते कल्पाः समुद्दिष्टाः सप्त कल्पक्षयंकराः । न मृता चेदियं देवी त्वं चैव ऋषिपुंगव
ke te kalpāḥ samuddiṣṭāḥ sapta kalpakṣayaṃkarāḥ | na mṛtā cediyaṃ devī tvaṃ caiva ṛṣipuṃgava
Welche Kalpas sind es, die du aufgezählt hast — jene sieben, die die Auflösung des Kalpa bewirken? Wenn diese Göttin nicht zugrunde ging, dann erkläre auch du, o Stier unter den Rishis, wie dies sein kann.
An inquiring sage (listener) addressing a senior ṛṣi within the Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue
Tirtha: Revatī/Narmadā (contextual)
Type: river
Listener: Addressed: 'ṛṣipuṅgava' (bull among sages)
Scene: Two sages in dialogue on a riverbank: one astonished, one authoritative ‘ṛṣipuṅgava’; behind them the river flows, with faint symbolic panels of kalpa cycles (lotus, ocean, fire).
FAQs
The verse frames Revā/Narmadā as a divine principle that can transcend cosmic cycles, prompting inquiry into the Goddess’s imperishability.
Revā/Narmadā is invoked as the sacred river-Goddess; the wider context is the Revā Khaṇḍa’s praise of Narmadā-tīrthas.
None explicitly; this verse is doctrinal, setting up cosmological questions that ground later tīrtha-practice.