Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3
मार्कंडेय उवाच । शृणुध्वं मुनयः सर्वे संति नद्यः परःशतम् । सर्वा अप्यघहारिण्यः सर्वा अपि वृषप्रदाः
mārkaṃḍeya uvāca | śṛṇudhvaṃ munayaḥ sarve saṃti nadyaḥ paraḥśatam | sarvā apyaghahāriṇyaḥ sarvā api vṛṣapradāḥ
മാർകണ്ഡേയൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ സർവ്വ മുനിമാരേ, ശ്രവിക്കുവിൻ; നദികൾ നൂറിലധികമുണ്ട്. അവയെല്ലാം പാപഹാരിണികൾ; അവയെല്ലാം ധർമ്മഫലം നൽകുന്നവയാണ്.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Listener: Munayaḥ (sages)
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya seated in a forest āśrama addressing gathered sages; behind them a stylized river network symbolizing ‘hundreds of rivers’ as luminous streams.
FAQs
All sacred rivers are honored as purifiers and supporters of dharma, preparing the listener for a discussion of relative greatness.
Rivers in general are praised; the specific ‘best’ river is addressed in the subsequent verses.
None explicitly; the verse affirms the purificatory and merit-giving nature of rivers.