Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
वृक्षच्छायासु तीर्थेषु नदीषु च नदेषु च । जलेन सिंचत्स्ववपुः सर्वत्रापि महेश्वरः
vṛkṣacchāyāsu tīrtheṣu nadīṣu ca nadeṣu ca | jalena siṃcatsvavapuḥ sarvatrāpi maheśvaraḥ
In the shade of trees, at sacred tīrthas, in great rivers and in streams, Maheśvara everywhere kept sprinkling his own body with water.
Gālava
Type: tirtha
Scene: Śiva moving from grove to grove: under tree canopies, at ford-stones, along broad rivers and narrow streams, repeatedly sprinkling water over his body—an image of ritual cooling amid inner fever.
FAQs
The verse highlights the purificatory and cooling sanctity of water and tīrthas, integral to dharma and pilgrimage culture.
It broadly praises tīrthas and rivers as sacred supports, preparing for the specific naming of Hara-tīrtha later in the chapter.
A form of ritual purification is implied—contact with water (sprinkling/bathing) at tīrthas and rivers.
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