Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1
मार्कण्डेय उवाच । तस्यैवानन्तरं चान्यच्छिखितीर्थमनुत्तमम् । प्रधानं सर्वतीर्थानां पञ्चायतनमुत्तमम्
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tasyaivānantaraṃ cānyacchikhitīrthamanuttamam | pradhānaṃ sarvatīrthānāṃ pañcāyatanamuttamam
மார்கண்டேயர் கூறினார்—அதன் உடனே ‘சிகிதீர்த்தம்’ எனப்படும் மற்றொரு ஒப்பற்ற தீர்த்தம் உள்ளது; அது எல்லாத் தீர்த்தங்களிலும் முதன்மையானதும், சிறந்த பஞ்சாயதனத் தலமும் ஆகும்.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Śikhitīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (nṛpa)
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya speaking to a king, pointing toward a riverside sacred complex: five shrines/altars arranged as pañcāyatana, pilgrims arriving with offerings; Narmadā visible nearby.
FAQs
The Purāṇa teaches that certain tīrthas are celebrated as spiritually preeminent, especially when worship is integrated in a complete sacred complex (pañcāyatana).
Śikhitīrtha, presented as an unsurpassed tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā sacred landscape.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it introduces the site and its status as a pañcāyatana sacred place.