Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59
स च मृगवपुर्भूत्वा प्रणष्टः शिवभीतितः । पृष्ठतस्तु धनुष्पाणिर्जगाम भगवाञ्छिवः । अद्यापि दृश्यते व्योम्नि तारारूपो महेश्वरि
sa ca mṛgavapurbhūtvā praṇaṣṭaḥ śivabhītitaḥ | pṛṣṭhatastu dhanuṣpāṇirjagāma bhagavāñchivaḥ | adyāpi dṛśyate vyomni tārārūpo maheśvari
Par crainte de Śiva, il prit la forme d’un cerf et s’enfuit. Derrière lui s’avança Bhagavān Śiva, l’arc à la main. Aujourd’hui encore, ô Maheśvarī, on le voit dans le ciel sous la forme d’une étoile.
Contextually Śiva (continuing narration to Devī/ Pārvatī)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (celestial tārā-smṛti)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Maheśvarī (Devī/Umā)
Scene: A figure (the offender) transforms into a deer and bolts away; Śiva follows with bow drawn, the chase arcing upward into the heavens; the fleeing deer becomes a star—still visible—while Devī is addressed as Maheśvarī.
FAQs
Ego and sacrificial pride cannot withstand Śiva’s dharma; even divine events leave cosmic signs that inspire remembrance of the Lord.
The verse sits within the Prabhāsa Kṣetra Māhātmya, framing sacred geography through the Dakṣa-yajña episode, though this particular line highlights a celestial marker rather than a local tīrtha ritual.
No direct vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa is prescribed in this verse; it is primarily narrative and cosmological.