Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31
क्षुत्कामकंठास्तृषितान्गौरी मत्वा तपोधनान् । आदाय गोरसं तेषां कारुण्यात्सा पुरः स्थिता
kṣutkāmakaṃṭhāstṛṣitāngaurī matvā tapodhanān | ādāya gorasaṃ teṣāṃ kāruṇyātsā puraḥ sthitā
Pensant que ces ascètes—dont la richesse était le tapas—avaient faim et soif, Gaurī, par compassion, prit du lait pour eux et se tint devant eux.
Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration)
Scene: Gaurī approaches a group of emaciated, radiant sages in a forested Prabhāsa landscape, holding a vessel of fresh milk; her face shows tender concern, while the sages sit in tapas-posture with matted hair and deer-skins.
FAQs
The tīrtha-path is upheld by compassion—divine and human—toward weary pilgrims and ascetics.
The episode unfolds on the Prabhāsakṣetra pilgrimage route connected to Kubera’s Āśrama.
Implied dharma of hospitality/charitable nourishment (anna-pāna-sevā), here symbolized by offering milk.