Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 15
स स्नातः सर्वतीर्थेषु सोमपानं दिने दिने । गङ्गाद्याः सरितः सर्वाः समुद्राश्च सरांसि च । कल्पान्ते संक्षयं यान्ति न मृता तेन नर्मदा
sa snātaḥ sarvatīrtheṣu somapānaṃ dine dine | gaṅgādyāḥ saritaḥ sarvāḥ samudrāśca sarāṃsi ca | kalpānte saṃkṣayaṃ yānti na mṛtā tena narmadā
وہ گویا تمام تیرتھوں میں اسنان کر چکا اور روز بروز سوم رس پیتا ہو۔ گنگا وغیرہ سب ندیاں، سمندر اور جھیلیں بھی کلپ کے آخر میں لَے ہو جاتی ہیں؛ اس لیے نَرمدا ‘مُردہ’ نہیں—وہ فنا نہیں ہوتی۔
Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual attribution within Revā Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Cosmic panorama: rivers, lakes, and oceans fading into pralaya mist, while the Revā remains luminous and flowing; a devotee performs snāna, receiving ‘sarva-tīrtha’ merit and soma-like bliss.
FAQs
Narmadā is proclaimed uniquely inexhaustible in sanctity, granting the combined merit of all pilgrimages and exalted ritual rewards.
The Narmadā (Revā) herself as a supreme tīrtha, compared against all rivers and waters.
Snāna (bathing) in the sacred context is implied as the merit-yielding act; the verse also uses Soma-pāna as a comparison of reward.