Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17
ईश्वर उवाच । इत्युक्तस्तैस्तदा ब्रह्मा मुनिभिस्तपसोज्ज्वलैः । वीक्षांचक्रे तदा सर्वा मूर्तिमत्यश्च निम्नगाः
īśvara uvāca | ityuktastaistadā brahmā munibhistapasojjvalaiḥ | vīkṣāṃcakre tadā sarvā mūrtimatyaśca nimnagāḥ
Īśvara dit : Ainsi sollicité par les munis, rayonnants d’austérité, Brahmā, en ce temps-là, parcourut du regard toutes les rivières, ces courants incarnés qui descendent vers le bas.
Īśvara (Śiva) narrating
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārvatī (implied by feminine vocatives in the passage)
Scene: Brahmā, addressed by tapas-radiant sages, surveys the world’s rivers as embodied goddesses—each a luminous, flowing presence—before the narrative draws them toward Prabhāsa.
FAQs
Sacred rivers are not accidental; Purāṇic dharma frames them as consciously ordained channels of purification and grace.
The action unfolds within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, preparing the selection/manifestation of a tīrtha-river for ritual purification.
The verse supports the forthcoming provision for abhiṣeka/snānā by identifying rivers as the ritual medium, though no step-by-step rite is detailed here.