Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8
अञ्जनेति किमर्थं वा किमर्थं सुरसेति च । मन्दाकिनी किमर्थं च शोणश्चेति कथं भवेत्
añjaneti kimarthaṃ vā kimarthaṃ suraseti ca | mandākinī kimarthaṃ ca śoṇaśceti kathaṃ bhavet
اسے اَنجنا کیوں کہا جاتا ہے، اور سُرسا کیوں؟ اسے مَنداکِنی کیوں کہتے ہیں، اور وہ شون کے نام سے کیسے معروف ہوتی ہے؟
An inquiring sage (listener) within the Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue
Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā (epithet-specific tīrtha zones)
Type: kshetra
Listener: muni (questioner)
Scene: A scroll-like tableau showing Narmadā in four vignettes labeled by epithets: dark collyrium hue for Añjanā, nourishing motherly aspect for Surasā, celestial clarity for Mandākinī, reddish glow for Śoṇa; sages point and inquire.
FAQs
The many epithets of a tīrtha-deity reveal layered sacred memory—myth, quality, and spiritual power condensed into names.
Revā/Narmadā through her alternate sacred names; the passage is part of her māhātmya.
None; it is an inquiry into nomenclature and sacred identity.