Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20
सरिदुवाच । प्रलये समनुप्राप्ते नष्टे स्थावरजंगमे । प्रसादात्तव देवेश अक्षयाहं भवे प्रभो
sariduvāca | pralaye samanuprāpte naṣṭe sthāvarajaṃgame | prasādāttava deveśa akṣayāhaṃ bhave prabho
നദി പറഞ്ഞു—“ഹേ ദേവേശാ! പ്രളയം വന്നപ്പോൾ സ്ഥാവരജംഗമങ്ങൾ എല്ലാം നശിച്ചാലും, ഹേ പ്രഭോ, നിന്റെ പ്രസാദത്താൽ ഞാൻ അക്ഷയയായി നിലനില്ക്കട്ടെ.”
Sarid (the River-goddess; Revā/Narmadā in context)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) as Akṣayā
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śiva (addressed as Devēśa/Prabhu); king as narrative audience
Scene: A cosmic pralaya backdrop—dark waters and dissolving worlds—contrasted with the river-goddess praying to Śiva for imperishability; Śiva stands calm, transcendent, granting refuge.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s holiness is framed as enduring not merely geographically, but cosmically—rooted in divine grace beyond dissolution.
Revā/Narmadā is presented as an imperishable sacred river-tīrtha.
None directly; it is a prayer for akṣayatva (imperishability) that undergirds later claims about bathing-merit.