Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52
येन नो याति पातालं गंगा स्वर्गपरिच्युता । तस्मात्त्वं देव मद्वाक्यात्स्वमूर्ध्ना वह जाह्नवीम्
yena no yāti pātālaṃ gaṃgā svargaparicyutā | tasmāttvaṃ deva madvākyātsvamūrdhnā vaha jāhnavīm
Afin que la Gaṅgā —tombée du ciel— ne s’abîme pas dans le monde souterrain (Pātāla), ainsi, ô Deva, à ma prière, porte Jāhnavī sur ta propre tête.
Likely Devī (Pārvatī) addressing Śiva, inferred from vocative sureśvari earlier and the request to 'Deva'
Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A supplicant (implied speaker: Umā/Pārvatī or divine interlocutor) urges Śiva to bear Jāhnavī on his head so her heavenly fall does not pierce down to pātāla; Gaṅgā appears as a luminous stream poised to descend.
FAQs
Divine power is mediated through divine restraint—Śiva’s bearing of Gaṅgā makes heavenly grace safe and accessible to the world.
Gaṅgā-tīrthas broadly, by grounding their sanctity in the cosmic event of Gaṅgā’s descent and containment.
None explicitly; the verse is etiological (explaining the sacred origin).