Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23
नाकपृष्ठे वसेत्तावद्यावदाभूतसम्प्लवम् । गृहे वा यदि वारण्ये तीर्थवर्त्मनि वा नृप
nākapṛṣṭhe vasettāvadyāvadābhūtasamplavam | gṛhe vā yadi vāraṇye tīrthavartmani vā nṛpa
ข้าแต่มหาราช ตราบใดที่มหาปรลัยยังไม่มาถึง เขาย่อมพำนักบนยอดสวรรค์—ไม่ว่าอยู่เรือน อยู่ป่า หรืออยู่บนหนทางจาริกสู่ทีรถะอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์
Śiva (Deveśa) speaking to King Uttānapāda (explicit vocative nṛpa; deduced speaker from surrounding verses)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-vartman (pilgrim-road along the river)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpa (king)
Scene: A king is addressed by a divine speaker; behind them a luminous pilgrimage road runs along a sacred river, with householders, forest-dwellers, and pilgrims all receiving the same celestial radiance, symbolizing equal access to akṣaya merit.
FAQs
True merit is not constrained by one’s external mode of life; its fruit can endure across vast cosmic time.
The verse references the general ‘tīrtha-vartman’ (pilgrim route) within the Revā Khaṇḍa milieu rather than a single named tirtha.
No specific rite is prescribed here; it emphasizes the durability of the reward regardless of living at home, in forest-discipline, or during pilgrimage.