Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25
गंगा नदी स्मृता पूर्वा नर्मदाख्या तथा परा । सरस्वती तृतीया तु नदी प्लक्षसमुद्भवा
gaṃgā nadī smṛtā pūrvā narmadākhyā tathā parā | sarasvatī tṛtīyā tu nadī plakṣasamudbhavā
D’abord on se souvient du fleuve Gaṅgā; ensuite de celui nommé Narmadā. Le troisième est le fleuve Sarasvatī, que l’on dit issu du Plakṣa (source/arbre sacré).
Sūta (deduced from the surrounding Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha dialogue; confirmed by the next verse where ṛṣayaḥ address 'sūtaja')
Tirtha: Gaṅgā–Narmadā–Sarasvatī (river-triad)
Type: sangam
Listener: null
Scene: Three river goddesses appear in sequence: Gaṅgā with makara and kumbha, Narmadā with rocky banks and forested ghats, Sarasvatī emerging near a sacred Plakṣa tree, veena motif and subtle ‘hidden river’ aura.
FAQs
It ranks revered rivers as tīrthas, teaching that sacred geography itself becomes a vehicle of purification and merit.
The tīrtha-principle is expressed through the great rivers Gaṅgā, Narmadā, and Sarasvatī as archetypal pilgrimage waters.
No explicit rule is given here; it prepares the list of sacred waters whose bathing-fruit is explained in the following verses.