Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12
वासुकिरुवाच । यदि तुष्टोऽसि मे देव वरं दास्यसि शङ्कर । प्रसादात्तव देवेश भूयान्निष्पापता मम । तीर्थं किंचित्समाख्याहि सर्वपापप्रणाशनम्
vāsukiruvāca | yadi tuṣṭo'si me deva varaṃ dāsyasi śaṅkara | prasādāttava deveśa bhūyānniṣpāpatā mama | tīrthaṃ kiṃcitsamākhyāhi sarvapāpapraṇāśanam
Vāsuki dit : «Si tu es satisfait de moi, ô Dieu—si tu m’accordes une grâce, ô Śaṅkara—par ta bienveillance, Seigneur des dieux, que ma pureté sans faute s’accroisse. Enseigne-moi quelque tīrtha qui anéantit tous les péchés.»
Vāsuki
Tirtha: (Requested) Sarva-pāpa-praṇāśana tīrtha—identified in following verses as Revā/Narmadā context
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (implied by later address in the passage)
Scene: Vāsuki, reverently folded hands, petitions Śaṅkara for a sin-destroying tīrtha; Śiva is seated in serene authority, granting guidance.
FAQs
The highest boon is not mere power but purification—seeking a means to destroy sin and live in alignment with dharma.
A sin-destroying tīrtha is requested; the following verse identifies Revā (Narmadā) and her sacred bank as the answer.
The request is for a tīrtha-based means of purification; the explicit prescription (snāna at Revā’s bank) appears in the next shloka.