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
ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—തപസ്സാൽ ദീപ്തരായ മുനിമാർ ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ, അപ്പോൾ ബ്രഹ്മാവ് താഴോട്ടൊഴുകുന്ന മూర్తിമതികളായ എല്ലാ നദികളെയും ചുറ്റും നിരീക്ഷിച്ചു।
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.