Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22
ऊचुस्ते तु समूहेन ब्राह्मणांस्तपसि स्थितान् । अस्माकं स्वामिनः सर्वे तिष्ठन्ते तीर्थमध्यतः । ते प्रस्थाप्या महाभागाः सर्वथैव त्वरान्विताः
ūcuste tu samūhena brāhmaṇāṃstapasi sthitān | asmākaṃ svāminaḥ sarve tiṣṭhante tīrthamadhyataḥ | te prasthāpyā mahābhāgāḥ sarvathaiva tvarānvitāḥ
Alors, d’une seule voix, ils dirent aux brāhmanes établis dans l’austérité : «Tous nos maîtres se tiennent au cœur même du tīrtha. Vous, ô nobles, devez y être dépêchés—à tout prix et sans délai.»
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) [deduced]
Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā tīrtha (tīrtha-madhya)
Type: ghat
Listener: Bhārata
Scene: A group of messengers or attendants address seated brāhmaṇas in tapas; their hands folded yet urgent, pointing toward the river’s center where their masters wait.
FAQs
The ‘center of the tīrtha’ symbolizes the heart of sanctity—seekers are summoned to move from periphery to direct encounter with the sacred.
The tīrtha connected with Ādityeśvara in the Revā Khaṇḍa, emphasized as having a powerful ‘middle’ or central sanctum.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; brāhmaṇas ‘in tapas’ are referenced, indicating austerity as an ongoing religious discipline.