Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5
नर्मदां सेवते नित्यं स्वयं देवो महेश्वरः । तेन पुण्या नदी ज्ञेया ब्रह्महत्यापहारिणी
narmadāṃ sevate nityaṃ svayaṃ devo maheśvaraḥ | tena puṇyā nadī jñeyā brahmahatyāpahāriṇī
خود دیو مہیشور نرمداؔ کی نِتّیہ سیوا کرتے ہیں؛ اسی لیے یہ ندی نہایت پُنّیہ داینی جانی جائے—جو برہمن ہتیا کے پاپ کو بھی دور کر دیتی ہے۔
Śiva (self-referential praise within Śaiva framing; consistent with surrounding ‘parameśvaraḥ’ statements)
Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pāṇḍava (nṛpa)
Scene: Śiva in ascetic splendor on the riverbank, offering reverence to the flowing Narmadā—either washing his hands, offering bilva, or standing beside a liṅga as the river glides past; the river radiates as a purifier, with a symbolic dark stain dissolving in her waters.
FAQs
A tīrtha becomes supremely authoritative when endorsed by divine practice; Narmadā’s sanctity is grounded in Śiva’s own reverence.
The Narmadā (Revā) river, presented as exceptionally purifying within the Revā Khaṇḍa.
The verse implies tīrtha-sevā (reverent worship/service) and purification; it highlights expiatory power (prāyaścitta) for even the gravest sins.