Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12
तत्र काचित्समायाता युवती गजगामिनी । तीरे संस्थाप्य वासांसि गंगायाः श्रमशान्तये । प्रविष्टा च जले नग्ना जलक्रीडां चकार ह
tatra kācitsamāyātā yuvatī gajagāminī | tīre saṃsthāpya vāsāṃsi gaṃgāyāḥ śramaśāntaye | praviṣṭā ca jale nagnā jalakrīḍāṃ cakāra ha
There a certain young woman, moving with the gait of an elephant, arrived. Placing her garments on the bank of the Gaṅgā to relieve her fatigue, she entered the water unclothed and began to play in the river.
Vasiṣṭha (continuing the narrative)
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī-tīra)
Type: ghat
Listener: Dilīpa
Scene: A young woman with graceful ‘elephant gait’ arrives at the Gaṅgā bank, sets her garments on the shore, and enters the water unclothed, playing in the river; the scene is vivid, sunlit, and morally charged.
FAQs
It sets the stage for a dharmic cautionary tale: external situations can test inner restraint, especially for renunciants.
The Gaṅgā in Kāśī is the narrative setting, a central sacred geography motif in Purāṇic teaching.
None; the verse is descriptive, preparing a moral narrative rather than prescribing a rite.