Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । नर्मदा सरितां श्रेष्ठा सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी । तारयेत्सर्वभूतानि स्थावराणि चराणि च
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | narmadā saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarvapāpapraṇāśinī | tārayetsarvabhūtāni sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Narmadā is the best of rivers, the destroyer of all sins. She carries across all beings—both the unmoving and the moving.”
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)
Type: river
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya proclaims Narmadā’s supremacy; the river is envisioned as a radiant goddess-river, washing away dark ‘pāpa’ clouds; beings—humans, animals, trees—are shown blessed along her banks.
FAQs
Association with a truly sacred tīrtha is portrayed as universally purifying—its grace extends beyond humans to all forms of life.
The Narmadā (Revā) river as the foremost purifier among rivers.
No specific ritual is stated; the verse asserts the intrinsic salvific and sin-destroying power of Narmadā.