Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
सा श्रुत्वा भर्तृनिधनमर्जुनाच्च महासती । गंगातीरे समुत्पाद्य पावकं पावकप्रभा । समुत्सृज्य महाकायं नदीभूत्वा विनिर्ययौ
sā śrutvā bhartṛnidhanamarjunācca mahāsatī | gaṃgātīre samutpādya pāvakaṃ pāvakaprabhā | samutsṛjya mahākāyaṃ nadībhūtvā viniryayau
Nghe Arjuna báo tin chồng đã mất, người phụ nữ trinh liệt đại đức—rực sáng như lửa—đã nhóm ngọn hỏa thiêu bên bờ sông Gaṅgā. Xả bỏ thân hình lớn ấy, nàng ra đi, hóa thành một dòng sông.
Narrator (continuing Īśvara’s account)
FAQs
Purity of resolve and devotion is mythically transfigured into sacred geography, turning personal dharma into a public tīrtha for all.
The Jāmbavatī River, whose sanctity is explained through her transformation.
Implicitly, the passage sanctifies the river as a place of future snāna (bathing) and merit, elaborated in subsequent verses.