Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2
उत्तमं सर्वतीर्थानां गीर्वाणैर्वन्दितं शिवम् । गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं पुत्र नाख्यातं कस्यचिन्मया
uttamaṃ sarvatīrthānāṃ gīrvāṇairvanditaṃ śivam | guhyādguhyataraṃ putra nākhyātaṃ kasyacinmayā
اے بیٹے، یہ سب تیرتھوں میں سَروُتّم ہے—شیو سے معمور اور مبارک—جسے دیوتا بھی وندنا کرتے ہیں۔ یہ رازوں سے بھی بڑھ کر راز ہے؛ میں نے اب تک اسے کسی پر ظاہر نہیں کیا تھا۔
Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate chapter transition where he speaks in 101.1)
Tirtha: Mārkaṇḍeśa
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pāṇḍu-nandana (a Pāṇḍava addressee, per subsequent verse address)
Scene: A revelation moment: Mārkaṇḍeya leans toward the listener, indicating secrecy; devas in the sky offer flowers toward a Śiva-liṅga by the Narmadā, suggesting the tīrtha’s supremacy.
FAQs
The Purāṇa frames certain tīrthas as divinely guarded secrets—approached with reverence, humility, and devotion to Śiva.
A supreme Śiva-associated tīrtha within the Revā (Narmadā) region; the precise site is introduced/expanded in the surrounding verses.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it functions as a prelude announcing a hidden tīrtha’s greatness.