Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
चारा ऊचुः । भ्रममाणैर्धरापृष्ठे दृष्टाऽपूर्वा कुमारिका । विन्ध्याचलेऽद्य चास्माभिर्भुजैर्द्वादशभिर्युता । नानाशस्त्रधरैर्दीप्तैश्चर्मच्छादितगात्रका
cārā ūcuḥ | bhramamāṇairdharāpṛṣṭhe dṛṣṭā'pūrvā kumārikā | vindhyācale'dya cāsmābhirbhujairdvādaśabhiryutā | nānāśastradharairdīptaiścarmacchāditagātrakā
ചാരന്മാർ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഭൂമിയുടെ മേൽഭാഗത്ത് സഞ്ചരിക്കുമ്പോൾ ഇന്ന് ഞങ്ങൾ വിന്ധ്യാചലത്തിൽ ഒരു അപൂർവ്വ കുമാരിയെ കണ്ടു; അവൾ ദ്വാദശഭുജയുത, പല പ്രകാശമുള്ള ആയുധങ്ങൾ ധരിച്ചവൾ, ചർമംകൊണ്ട് മൂടപ്പെട്ട അവയവങ്ങളുള്ളവൾ.”
Cārāḥ (spies/agents of the daitya lord)
Tirtha: Vindhyācala (as Devī-sthala)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Their lord (Mahiṣa)
Scene: Asura spies describe (or behold) an unprecedented maiden on Vindhya: twelve arms radiating outward, each holding a different shining weapon; her body is clad in hide, suggesting fierce ascetic-warrior energy; the mountain backdrop frames her as the kṣetra-devatā.
FAQs
The Purāṇas portray dharma as protected by divine power; the sacred landscape can reveal extraordinary, protective forms when tapas matures.
Vindhyācala (the Vindhya mountain region) is explicitly mentioned as the setting within the tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.
None directly; the verse is a report describing a divine/extraordinary form encountered at Vindhyācala.