Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
देव्युवाच । देवदेव महादेव गंगाक्षालितशेखर । वद मे तीर्थमाहात्म्यं यद्यहं वल्लभा तव
devyuvāca | devadeva mahādeva gaṃgākṣālitaśekhara | vada me tīrthamāhātmyaṃ yadyahaṃ vallabhā tava
La Devī dit : «Ô Dieu des dieux, ô Mahādeva, dont la cime est purifiée par le Gaṅgā, dis-moi la grandeur des tīrtha, si vraiment je suis chère à ton cœur.»
Devī (Pārvatī)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (invoked via Gaṅgādhara)
Type: river
Listener: dvija-s / sages (outer frame); Śiva (inner frame)
Scene: Devī addresses Śiva with folded hands: ‘Devadeva Mahādeva, Gaṅgā-washed crest’; Śiva sits serene, Gaṅgā flowing from his matted hair, moon on his head, ash-smeared body, trident nearby.
FAQs
Devotion seeks guidance: the Devī asks for tīrtha-māhātmya from Śiva, showing that pilgrimage and sacred geography are best approached through humility and divine instruction.
Gaṅgā is invoked as the purifier adorning Śiva; specific tīrthas are to be explained subsequently.
No detailed rite; the request is for teaching on tīrtha-māhātmya (the principles and glories behind pilgrimage).