Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4
के ते कल्पाः समुद्दिष्टाः सप्त कल्पक्षयंकराः । न मृता चेदियं देवी त्वं चैव ऋषिपुंगव
ke te kalpāḥ samuddiṣṭāḥ sapta kalpakṣayaṃkarāḥ | na mṛtā cediyaṃ devī tvaṃ caiva ṛṣipuṃgava
Những kalpa nào mà ngài đã nêu—bảy kalpa gây nên sự tiêu hoại của kalpa ấy là gì? Nếu Nữ Thần này không diệt mất, thì chính ngài nữa, hỡi bậc tối thắng giữa các hiền triết, xin hãy giải bày điều ấy.
An inquiring sage (listener) addressing a senior ṛṣi within the Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue
Tirtha: Revatī/Narmadā (contextual)
Type: river
Listener: Addressed: 'ṛṣipuṅgava' (bull among sages)
Scene: Two sages in dialogue on a riverbank: one astonished, one authoritative ‘ṛṣipuṅgava’; behind them the river flows, with faint symbolic panels of kalpa cycles (lotus, ocean, fire).
FAQs
The verse frames Revā/Narmadā as a divine principle that can transcend cosmic cycles, prompting inquiry into the Goddess’s imperishability.
Revā/Narmadā is invoked as the sacred river-Goddess; the wider context is the Revā Khaṇḍa’s praise of Narmadā-tīrthas.
None explicitly; this verse is doctrinal, setting up cosmological questions that ground later tīrtha-practice.