Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 81
एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु विष्णुर्वामनतां गतः । मध्यदेशे चतुर्वेदो ब्राह्मणस्तीर्थयात्रिकः । महोदरो ह्रस्वभुजः खञ्जपादो महाशिराः
etasminneva kāle tu viṣṇurvāmanatāṃ gataḥ | madhyadeśe caturvedo brāhmaṇastīrthayātrikaḥ | mahodaro hrasvabhujaḥ khañjapādo mahāśirāḥ
En ce même temps, Viṣṇu prit la forme de Vāmana. Dans le Madhyadeśa, il apparut comme un brāhmane pèlerin, versé dans les quatre Veda—au ventre rebondi, aux bras courts, aux pieds boiteux et à la tête massive.
Sūta (deduced narrator)
Scene: Vāmana as an ungainly brāhmaṇa pilgrim—pot-bellied, short-armed, limping—yet radiant with hidden divinity, holding the quiet authority of the four Vedas.
FAQs
The Divine may appear in humble, even imperfect-seeming forms; dharma trains one to recognize holiness beyond appearances.
The verse sets up Viṣṇu’s pilgrimage that will lead into the Vastrāpatha/Surāṣṭra sacred landscape within the māhātmya.
No explicit rite; it introduces tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage) as the divine’s chosen mode of approach.