Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 5
अक्षपादो महायोगी गौतमाख्योऽभवन्मुनिः । गोदावरीसमानेता अहल्यायाः पतिः प्रभुः
akṣapādo mahāyogī gautamākhyo'bhavanmuniḥ | godāvarīsamānetā ahalyāyāḥ patiḥ prabhuḥ
Il y eut un grand yogin nommé Akṣapāda, connu comme le sage Gautama : seigneur éminent, époux d’Ahalyā, et celui qui fit se manifester la rivière Godāvarī.
Nārada
Tirtha: Godāvarī (Gautama-sambandha)
Type: river
Listener: Kuru-foremost (Kurūd-vaha)
Scene: Portrait-like depiction of the great yogin Akṣapāda/Gautama with matted locks and ascetic radiance; Ahalyā nearby in reverent posture; the Godāvarī emerging as a goddess-river from a rocky spring or from Śiva’s grace, flowing toward the plains.
FAQs
Great sages shape sacred geography; their tapas and yogic power sanctify rivers and regions for the welfare of beings.
The verse links the emerging māhātmya to the Godāvarī region and the sage Gautama, setting the stage for the Gautameśvara-liṅga’s sacred locale.
No explicit ritual is stated; it provides the foundational identity of Gautama for the forthcoming māhātmya.