Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19
तमः स्तोमेन संछन्नाश्चतस्रो विदिशो दिशः । रात्रौ यामद्वयं यातं किं मतंगः समागतः
tamaḥ stomena saṃchannāścatasro vidiśo diśaḥ | rātrau yāmadvayaṃ yātaṃ kiṃ mataṃgaḥ samāgataḥ
Die vier Himmelsrichtungen waren von dichten Massen der Finsternis verhüllt. Zwei Nachtwachen waren vergangen—war ihm etwa ein Elefant begegnet?
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (contextual)
Scene: The four directions vanish under thick darkness; time is marked—two yāmas have passed; the woman imagines an elephant encounter in the forest, conjuring a shadowy massive form amid trees.
FAQs
It underscores the uncertainty of worldly life and the ever-present possibility of peril—often used to frame karmic outcomes.
Not explicit here; the larger narrative belongs to Kedārakhaṇḍa’s sacred geography.
None.