Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9
देवा ऊचुः । धरा धरित्री भूतानां भारोद्विग्ना निमज्जति । तामुद्धर हृषीकेश लोकान्संस्थापय स्थितौ
devā ūcuḥ | dharā dharitrī bhūtānāṃ bhārodvignā nimajjati | tāmuddhara hṛṣīkeśa lokānsaṃsthāpaya sthitau
Para Deva berkata: “Dharā, sang penopang segala makhluk, ditindih beban lalu sedang tenggelam. Wahai Hṛṣīkeśa, angkatlah dia dan tegakkan kembali segala loka dalam kestabilan serta tertib yang sepatutnya.”
Devāḥ (the gods)
Listener: Hṛṣīkeśa (Viṣṇu)
Scene: Devas point toward the sinking Earth, personified or implied, pleading to Hṛṣīkeśa to lift her and restore cosmic stability.
FAQs
When dharma and the world-order sink under oppressive weight, divine preservation responds to sincere collective prayer and restores stability.
This verse introduces the Varāha narrative that, in this chapter, becomes anchored to the Narmadā (Revā) region and its northern bank tīrthas.
No explicit ritual is stated here; it is a supplicatory invocation that frames the later tīrtha-focused merits.