Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55
पयोष्णी च शतद्रुश्च तथा धर्मनदी शुभा । एताश्चान्याश्च सरितः सर्वपापहराः स्मृताः
payoṣṇī ca śatadruśca tathā dharmanadī śubhā | etāścānyāśca saritaḥ sarvapāpaharāḥ smṛtāḥ
Sont aussi sacrées la Payoṣṇī, la Śatadru et l’auspicieuse Dharmanadī. Celles-ci et d’autres rivières sont rappelées comme effaçant tous les péchés.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Payoṣṇī, Śatadru, Dharmanadī (and other sacred rivers)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Pilgrims bathe at different rivers—some in plains, some near hills—while a sage’s concluding statement frames all these waters as ‘sarvapāpa-harāḥ’; the water is depicted washing away dark stains that dissolve into light.
FAQs
Rivers are treated as living tīrthas whose sanctity supports purification and dharmic renewal.
A network of river-tīrthas is praised; the narrative is moving toward Revā (Narmadā) as exceptional among them.
No explicit injunction; the verse provides a doctrinal basis for tīrtha-snāna and pilgrimage.