Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2
रेवायां पुरतः कृत्वा पुरा नन्दी गणेश्वरः । तपस्तपञ्जयं कुर्वंस्तीर्थात्तीर्थं जगाम ह
revāyāṃ purataḥ kṛtvā purā nandī gaṇeśvaraḥ | tapastapañjayaṃ kurvaṃstīrthāttīrthaṃ jagāma ha
In ancient times Nandī, the lord of Śiva’s attendants, keeping the Revā (Narmadā) before him as his guiding presence, went from one tīrtha to another, performing austerities and conquering the hardships of tapas.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Revā tīrthas (series)
Type: ghat
Listener: King (rājendra)
Scene: Nandī, anthropomorphized as a powerful devotee or shown as Śiva’s bull with divine aura, travels along the Narmadā, stopping at successive ghāṭs; ascetics and forested banks accompany the journey.
FAQs
True pilgrimage is not mere travel; it is tapas—disciplined endurance and devotion—carried from tīrtha to tīrtha.
The Revā (Narmadā) region as a sacred pilgrimage landscape, approached through successive tīrthas along the river.
Tīrtha-yātrā undertaken with tapas (austerity/discipline); the verse frames pilgrimage itself as a religious practice.