Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59
स च मृगवपुर्भूत्वा प्रणष्टः शिवभीतितः । पृष्ठतस्तु धनुष्पाणिर्जगाम भगवाञ्छिवः । अद्यापि दृश्यते व्योम्नि तारारूपो महेश्वरि
sa ca mṛgavapurbhūtvā praṇaṣṭaḥ śivabhītitaḥ | pṛṣṭhatastu dhanuṣpāṇirjagāma bhagavāñchivaḥ | adyāpi dṛśyate vyomni tārārūpo maheśvari
ومن شدة خوفه من شيفا اتخذ هيئة غزال وفرّ هاربًا. ومن ورائه مضى بهاگفان شيفا وقوسه بيده. وحتى اليوم، يا ماهيشوَري، يُرى في السماء على هيئة نجم.
Contextually Śiva (continuing narration to Devī/ Pārvatī)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (celestial tārā-smṛti)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Maheśvarī (Devī/Umā)
Scene: A figure (the offender) transforms into a deer and bolts away; Śiva follows with bow drawn, the chase arcing upward into the heavens; the fleeing deer becomes a star—still visible—while Devī is addressed as Maheśvarī.
FAQs
Ego and sacrificial pride cannot withstand Śiva’s dharma; even divine events leave cosmic signs that inspire remembrance of the Lord.
The verse sits within the Prabhāsa Kṣetra Māhātmya, framing sacred geography through the Dakṣa-yajña episode, though this particular line highlights a celestial marker rather than a local tīrtha ritual.
No direct vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa is prescribed in this verse; it is primarily narrative and cosmological.