Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 43
भूयः संतापिता यज्ञैः पृथिवी पृथिवीपते । सुस्राव सर्वतीर्थानां सारं साऽभून्महीनदी
bhūyaḥ saṃtāpitā yajñaiḥ pṛthivī pṛthivīpate | susrāva sarvatīrthānāṃ sāraṃ sā'bhūnmahīnadī
De nouveau, la Terre fut brûlée par les yajñas, ô seigneur de la terre. Alors elle fit couler l’essence même de tous les tīrthas et devint le fleuve nommé Mahīnadī.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual attribution within Māheśvara-khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Mahīnadī
Type: river
Listener: Indradyumna (king)
Scene: The Earth, scorched by sacrificial heat, releases a luminous stream that becomes Mahīnadī; the river is depicted as a goddess emerging, carrying symbols of many tīrthas within her flow.
FAQs
When dharma burdens the world, divine sacred geography manifests—holy rivers arise as concentrated grace for purification.
Mahīnadī is praised as embodying the essence of all tīrthas.
No direct prescription; it frames the origin of a tīrtha-river emerging in response to intense sacrificial activity.