Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43
स्त्रीणां शरीरं ते कस्मान्मृगीणां वदनं कुतः । इति सर्वं समाचक्ष्व परं कौतूहलं हि मे
strīṇāṃ śarīraṃ te kasmānmṛgīṇāṃ vadanaṃ kutaḥ | iti sarvaṃ samācakṣva paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me
« Pourquoi as-tu le corps d’une femme, et pourtant le visage d’une biche ? Dis-moi tout cela, car mon étonnement et ma curiosité sont immenses. »
Narrator (Purāṇic reciter); within-verse speaker: the King
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: Close focus on the hybrid being: woman’s torso and limbs with a doe’s face; the king gestures in astonished inquiry; deer watch quietly, emphasizing the boundary between wild and human.
FAQs
Extraordinary forms in Purāṇas often point to hidden karma and the impending grace of a sacred place.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra, in the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya episode.
None directly; the verse sets up the explanation typically leading to a vow, bath, or kṣetra-based remedy.