Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23
नीरोगो रूपवांश्चैव विद्याढ्यः सत्यवाक्शुचिः । गोपारेश्वरमाहात्म्यं मया ख्यातं युधिष्ठिर । गोदेहान्निःसृतं लिङ्गं नर्मदादक्षिणे तटे
nīrogo rūpavāṃścaiva vidyāḍhyaḥ satyavākśuciḥ | gopāreśvaramāhātmyaṃ mayā khyātaṃ yudhiṣṭhira | godehānniḥsṛtaṃ liṅgaṃ narmadādakṣiṇe taṭe
So wird man gesund, schön, reich an Wissen, wahrhaftig im Wort und rein. O Yudhiṣṭhira, so habe ich die Größe Gopāreśvaras verkündet: des Liṅga, das aus dem Leib einer Kuh am Südufer der Narmadā hervorging.
Mārkaṇḍeya (to Yudhiṣṭhira)
Tirtha: Gopāreśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: The Gopāreśvara liṅga is shown emerging miraculously from a cow’s body on the Narmadā’s southern bank; sages and devotees witness; Yudhiṣṭhira is addressed in the narrative frame; the river glows with sanctity.
FAQs
Sthala-māhātmya links place, deity, and ethics: worship at a divinely manifested liṅga yields purity, truthfulness, learning, health, and auspicious qualities.
Gopāreśvara on the southern bank of the Narmadā (Revā), where the liṅga is said to have manifested from a cow’s body.
No single rite is specified in this verse; it summarizes the virtues gained and identifies the liṅga’s sacred origin-location.