Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22
।ब्रह्मोवाच । धृताः सर्वा महापुण्या नद्यो ब्रह्मकमण्डलौ । प्रविष्टाः पृथिवीं यांतु ऋषीणामनुकम्पया
|brahmovāca | dhṛtāḥ sarvā mahāpuṇyā nadyo brahmakamaṇḍalau | praviṣṭāḥ pṛthivīṃ yāṃtu ṛṣīṇāmanukampayā
พระพรหมตรัสว่า “สายน้ำทั้งปวงอันเปี่ยมมหาบุญนี้ถูกรักษาไว้ในกมณฑลุของพระพรหม ครั้นได้เข้าสู่ภาชนะนั้นแล้ว ขอให้ไหลออกสู่แผ่นดิน ด้วยความกรุณาต่อเหล่าฤๅษี”
Brahmā
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (frame); rivers as tīrtha-devīs
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (addressed implicitly); within Īśvara/Skanda-Purāṇic narration frame
Scene: Brahmā, seated with kamaṇḍalu, holds within it luminous miniature rivers; sages stand in supplication; the rivers shimmer, poised to descend to earth.
FAQs
Holy waters are granted to the world as an act of compassion, supporting the sages’ dharma and ritual life.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra (context of the adhyāya), where the rivers’ sacred presence becomes meaningful for tīrtha-mahātmya.
Implied: enabling rites dependent on sacred water (snāna/abhiṣeka), though no direct instruction is given.