Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6
मृगयूथमनु प्राप्तमस्मिन्स्थाने जलाश्रये । केन मार्गेण तद्यातं वदध्वं सत्वरं हि नः । वयं सर्वे परिश्रांताः क्षुत्तृड्भ्यां च विशेषतः
mṛgayūthamanu prāptamasminsthāne jalāśraye | kena mārgeṇa tadyātaṃ vadadhvaṃ satvaraṃ hi naḥ | vayaṃ sarve pariśrāṃtāḥ kṣuttṛḍbhyāṃ ca viśeṣataḥ
« Nous avons poursuivi le troupeau de cerfs jusqu’en ce lieu près des eaux. Par quel chemin est-il parti ? Dites-le-nous vite. Nous sommes tous exténués, surtout de faim et de soif. »
Hunters (Vyādhas)
Tirtha: Unnamed jalāśraya-tīrtha in Arbuda narrative
Type: kund
Listener: Transformed men (formerly deer) and indirectly the king via Pulastya
Scene: Hunters, dusty and weary, stand at the edge of a waterbody, urgently asking the path of the deer herd; the setting emphasizes heat, fatigue, and the cool promise of water.
FAQs
Human urgency and need (hunger, thirst) are shown alongside the hidden working of tīrtha merit that will soon transform the pursuers.
The water-side sacred place—Mānuṣa Hrada—where the pursued deer took refuge.
None; the verse is direct speech that advances the narrative toward the snāna-based transformation.