Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12
पृथिव्यां दह्यमानायां हविर्गन्धश्च जायते । ततो मे शुष्यते गात्रं तृषाप्येवं दुरासदा
pṛthivyāṃ dahyamānāyāṃ havirgandhaśca jāyate | tato me śuṣyate gātraṃ tṛṣāpyevaṃ durāsadā
جب زمین جل رہی تھی تو ہَوی (قربانی کی آہوتی) کی خوشبو اٹھنے لگی۔ پھر میرا بدن سوکھ گیا اور ناقابلِ برداشت پیاس نے مجھے گھیر لیا۔
A first-person narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa (speaker not explicit in the excerpt)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)
Type: river
Listener: Interlocutor implied from prior address
Scene: Smoke and shimmering heat rise from a burning earth; strangely, the air carries the sweet scent of ghee-offerings. The narrator’s limbs appear parched, eyes strained, thirst personified as an overpowering force.
FAQs
The world’s burning is likened to a sacrificial fire, yet embodied beings suffer intensely—pointing to the limits of the body and the need for spiritual refuge.
The chapter belongs to Revā-khaṇḍa; the explicit glorification of Revā appears in nearby verses rather than here.
No prescription is given; “havis” appears as metaphorical imagery connected to sacrifice.