Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
श्वेतः खुरविषाणेषु स नीलो वृषभः स्मृतः । चतुष्पादो धर्मरूपो नील लोहितचिह्नकः
śvetaḥ khuraviṣāṇeṣu sa nīlo vṛṣabhaḥ smṛtaḥ | catuṣpādo dharmarūpo nīla lohitacihnakaḥ
“…et blanc aux sabots et aux cornes—on se souvient de lui comme du taureau nommé Nīla : à quatre pattes, forme même du Dharma, portant des marques de bleu et de rouge.”
Gālava
Tirtha: Nīla-vṛṣabha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śūdra
Scene: A majestic bull stands firm: white hooves and horns, body marked with blue and red; the narration declares it the very form of Dharma, four-footed and complete.
FAQs
Dharma is not merely an abstract rule—it is envisioned as a living, steady support of the world, symbolized here as the four-footed bull.
The verse supports the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya by defining the sacred figure encountered there; the site-name is not stated in this line.
None directly; the verse provides identification and theological symbolism (Dharma as vṛṣabha).