Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 23
पृथ्वी सागरपर्यंता दृष्टा सर्वा तदानघ । महीनाम नदी पुण्या सर्वतीर्थमयी शुभा
pṛthvī sāgaraparyaṃtā dṛṣṭā sarvā tadānagha | mahīnāma nadī puṇyā sarvatīrthamayī śubhā
اے بےگناہ! میں نے سمندر کے کنارے تک پوری زمین دیکھی۔ وہاں ‘مہی’ نام کی ایک مقدس ندی ہے—مبارک، پاکیزہ، اور اپنے اندر تمام تیرتھوں کی قوت سمیٹے ہوئے۔
Bhṛgu (contextual, continuing narration to Nārada)
Tirtha: Mahī-nadī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nārada
Scene: Bhṛgu describes the earth surveyed to the ocean’s rim, then points to the Mahī as a luminous ribbon of water, surrounded by tīrtha-symbols (miniature shrines, sages, and devas) suggesting ‘all tīrthas within’.
FAQs
Certain sacred rivers are portrayed as concentrated sanctuaries—approaching them is akin to visiting many tīrthas at once.
Mahī-nadī is praised as sarvatīrthamayī (embodying all tīrthas).
No explicit rite here; it establishes the river’s exceptional sanctity, implying pilgrimage and bathing will be meritorious.