Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21
दृष्ट्वा ता आगताः सर्वा गङ्गागर्भे महामतेः । षण्मुखैः षण्मुखो भूत्वा पिपासुरपिबत्स्तनम्
dṛṣṭvā tā āgatāḥ sarvā gaṅgāgarbhe mahāmateḥ | ṣaṇmukhaiḥ ṣaṇmukho bhūtvā pipāsurapibatstanam
அவர்கள் அனைவரும் கங்கையின் கருப்பைபோன்ற அடைக்கலத்துக்கு வந்ததைப் பார்த்த மகாமதி, ஆறு முகங்களுடன் ஷண்முகனாகி, தாகத்தால் அவர்களின் தாய்ப்பாலை அருந்தினான்।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Gaṅgā-garbha motif)
Type: river
Listener: Bhārata (as addressed in the surrounding passage)
Scene: Within a luminous, womb-like hollow of the Gaṅgā’s waters, the six Kṛttikā mothers arrive; the child becomes six-faced, each mouth turned to a breast, drinking simultaneously; river-lotus, ripples, and divine radiance surround the scene.
FAQs
The Divine assumes forms suited to dharma’s needs—multiplicity of form can serve unity of purpose.
Gaṅgā is portrayed as a womb-like sacred refuge (gaṅgā-garbha), reinforcing her status as a supreme tīrtha.
No explicit ritual; it symbolically sanctifies nourishment and protection offered in sacred spaces.