Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5
नर्मदां सेवते नित्यं स्वयं देवो महेश्वरः । तेन पुण्या नदी ज्ञेया ब्रह्महत्यापहारिणी
narmadāṃ sevate nityaṃ svayaṃ devo maheśvaraḥ | tena puṇyā nadī jñeyā brahmahatyāpahāriṇī
स्वयं देव महेश्वर नित्य नर्मदेची सेवा करतात; म्हणून ती परम पुण्यदायिनी नदी आहे, जी ब्रह्महत्येचे पापही नष्ट करते.
Śiva (self-referential praise within Śaiva framing; consistent with surrounding ‘parameśvaraḥ’ statements)
Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pāṇḍava (nṛpa)
Scene: Śiva in ascetic splendor on the riverbank, offering reverence to the flowing Narmadā—either washing his hands, offering bilva, or standing beside a liṅga as the river glides past; the river radiates as a purifier, with a symbolic dark stain dissolving in her waters.
FAQs
A tīrtha becomes supremely authoritative when endorsed by divine practice; Narmadā’s sanctity is grounded in Śiva’s own reverence.
The Narmadā (Revā) river, presented as exceptionally purifying within the Revā Khaṇḍa.
The verse implies tīrtha-sevā (reverent worship/service) and purification; it highlights expiatory power (prāyaścitta) for even the gravest sins.