Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31
वनपालेन सहितो मृगयूथं ददर्श सः । सा मृगी मृगमध्यस्था नारीदेहा मुखे मृगी । मृगवच्चेष्टते बाला धावते च मृगैः सह
vanapālena sahito mṛgayūthaṃ dadarśa saḥ | sā mṛgī mṛgamadhyasthā nārīdehā mukhe mṛgī | mṛgavacceṣṭate bālā dhāvate ca mṛgaiḥ saha
Bersama penjaga rimba, ia melihat kawanan rusa. Di tengahnya ada seekor rusa betina—bertubuh manusia, namun berwajah rusa. Gadis muda itu bergerak laksana rusa dan berlari bersama rusa-rusa.
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: The king and forest-guard behold a deer herd; in the center runs a young girl with a human body but a deer’s face, moving and fleeing with the deer—an uncanny, poignant vision in the sacred forest.
FAQs
In a consecrated region, the boundary between ordinary nature and divine mystery thins, revealing wonders that prompt inquiry into karma and dharma.
Vastrāpathakṣetra, presented as a landscape where extraordinary signs manifest.
None here; the verse introduces the miraculous figure central to the episode.