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
Les quatre directions furent voilées par d’épaisses masses de ténèbres. Deux veilles de la nuit s’étaient écoulées—un éléphant serait-il venu à sa rencontre ?
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.