Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23
नाकपृष्ठे वसेत्तावद्यावदाभूतसम्प्लवम् । गृहे वा यदि वारण्ये तीर्थवर्त्मनि वा नृप
nākapṛṣṭhe vasettāvadyāvadābhūtasamplavam | gṛhe vā yadi vāraṇye tīrthavartmani vā nṛpa
Il demeure sur les hauteurs du ciel tant que ne survient pas la dissolution cosmique—qu’il réside au foyer, dans la forêt ou sur la route des pèlerinages vers les tīrtha, ô roi.
Śiva (Deveśa) speaking to King Uttānapāda (explicit vocative nṛpa; deduced speaker from surrounding verses)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-vartman (pilgrim-road along the river)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpa (king)
Scene: A king is addressed by a divine speaker; behind them a luminous pilgrimage road runs along a sacred river, with householders, forest-dwellers, and pilgrims all receiving the same celestial radiance, symbolizing equal access to akṣaya merit.
FAQs
True merit is not constrained by one’s external mode of life; its fruit can endure across vast cosmic time.
The verse references the general ‘tīrtha-vartman’ (pilgrim route) within the Revā Khaṇḍa milieu rather than a single named tirtha.
No specific rite is prescribed here; it emphasizes the durability of the reward regardless of living at home, in forest-discipline, or during pilgrimage.