Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5
रवितीर्थस्य सर्वाणि कलां नार्हन्ति षोडशीम् । रवितीर्थे हि यद्वृत्तं तच्छृणुष्व नृपोत्तम
ravitīrthasya sarvāṇi kalāṃ nārhanti ṣoḍaśīm | ravitīrthe hi yadvṛttaṃ tacchṛṇuṣva nṛpottama
Alle (anderen) Tīrthas verdienen nicht einmal den sechzehnten Teil des Verdienstes von Ravitīrtha. Darum, o bester der Könige, höre, was sich in Ravitīrtha zutrug.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced); the narrative addresses a king as listener within the story
Tirtha: Ravitīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: Nṛpottama (royal listener)
Scene: A dramatic pause: Mārkaṇḍeya raises a hand in teaching gesture; a luminous ‘sixteen-rayed’ sun motif behind the Ravitīrtha shrine symbolizes the ‘ṣoḍaśī kalā’; the king leans forward, attentive, as the legend is about to begin.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s greatness is conveyed through ‘fractional’ comparison (one-sixteenth), urging focused śravaṇa (listening) and faith in the sanctity of place.
Ravitīrtha is explicitly exalted as surpassing other sacred places.
The implied discipline is śravaṇa—attentive listening to the tīrtha’s sacred history as a means of cultivating devotion and merit.