Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 48
स्वरूपमास्थितो देवः प्राप हास्यं यतो भुवि । नर्मदा तेन चोक्तेयं सुशीतलजला शिवा
svarūpamāsthito devaḥ prāpa hāsyaṃ yato bhuvi | narmadā tena cokteyaṃ suśītalajalā śivā
देव आपल्या स्वस्वरूपात स्थित असताना पृथ्वीवर हास्य उत्पन्न झाले; म्हणून ही ‘नर्मदा’ म्हणून ओळखली जाते—ही शिवा असून तिचे जल अतिशय शीतल आहे.
Mārkaṇḍeya (narrating; preserving Śiva’s naming rationale)
Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Śiva, steady in his own form, causes a wave of laughter to ripple across the earth; beside him the river-goddess Narmadā appears as ‘Śivā’, her waters rendered crystalline and cool.
FAQs
The tīrtha embodies Śiva’s auspiciousness—its very qualities (cool, beneficent waters) are framed as divine grace for the world.
The Narmadā river-tīrtha is praised for its auspicious nature and cooling waters, signaling its sanctity for pilgrimage and bathing.
Not explicit, but the emphasis on the river’s waters implicitly supports snāna (holy bathing) as a purifying practice.