Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19
असहन्ती तु तत्तेजो गङ्गापि सरितां वरा । शरस्तम्बे विनिक्षिप्य जगामाशु यथागतम्
asahantī tu tattejo gaṅgāpi saritāṃ varā | śarastambe vinikṣipya jagāmāśu yathāgatam
Ne pouvant supporter cette énergie flamboyante, même la Gaṅgā—la plus noble des rivières—la déposa dans une touffe de roseaux et revint promptement par où elle était venue.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Śara-stamba / Śaravana (reed-bed locus)
Type: kund
Scene: Gaṅgā, personified as a radiant river-goddess, cannot bear the tejas; she places the glowing potency into a dense clump of reeds (śara-stamba) and flows back swiftly.
FAQs
Even the holiest forces of nature follow dharma by placing overwhelming divine power where it can safely manifest for the world’s good.
The verse continues the glorification of Gaṅgā and introduces the sacred setting of the śara-stamba as part of the divine birth narrative.
No explicit prescription; the emphasis is on the sanctity of natural sacred loci (rivers, groves) as divinely chosen vessels.