Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 106
ऋषयो रोमकूपेषु ह्यसंख्यातास्तपस्विनः । दण्डहस्तो महाकायः कृष्णो महिषवाहनः
ṛṣayo romakūpeṣu hyasaṃkhyātāstapasvinaḥ | daṇḍahasto mahākāyaḥ kṛṣṇo mahiṣavāhanaḥ
അവളുടെ രോമകൂപങ്ങളിൽ എണ്ണമറ്റ തപസ്വികളായ ഋഷിമാർ വസിക്കുന്നു. കൂടാതെ ദണ്ഡഹസ്തൻ, മഹാകായൻ, കൃഷ്ണവർണ്ണൻ—മഹിഷവാഹനനായ പ്രഭുവും അവിടെ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from nearby dialogue context)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Close view of a cow’s hide shimmering with countless tiny sage-figures seated in meditation within hair-pores; nearby stands a formidable dark, staff-bearing deity riding a buffalo, embodying stern guardianship.
FAQs
Holiness is portrayed as immanent: the cow is envisioned as a vessel of tapas, sages, and divine powers, deserving protection and honor.
Not a specific tīrtha; the verse supports the Revā Khaṇḍa’s broader sacrality by presenting the cow as a moving tīrtha-like embodiment of merit.
None explicitly; it is a descriptive glorification (māhātmya) establishing grounds for reverence and related meritorious acts.