Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 79
अन्धकाय स वृत्तांतं कथयामास कृत्स्नशः । नैताः स्त्रियो दनुश्रेष्ठ युद्धार्थं समुपस्थिताः
andhakāya sa vṛttāṃtaṃ kathayāmāsa kṛtsnaśaḥ | naitāḥ striyo danuśreṣṭha yuddhārthaṃ samupasthitāḥ
അവൻ അന്ധകനെ ആ സംഭവവൃത്താന്തം മുഴുവനായി പറഞ്ഞു— “ഹേ ദനുശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! യുദ്ധാർത്ഥം മുന്നോട്ട് വന്ന ഇവർ സാധാരണ സ്ത്രീകൾ അല്ല.”
Unspecified narrator (context: a messenger/adviser addressing Andhaka)
Scene: Nārada stands before Andhaka, gesturing in explanation; Andhaka—regal yet tense—listens amid a camp or battlefield edge; behind them, fierce feminine figures are glimpsed, hinting they are not human.
FAQs
It cautions against mistaking divine śakti for ordinary worldly power; dharma requires discernment before conflict.
This verse functions within the Tīrthamāhātmya frame but does not name a specific tīrtha in this line; it sets up the sacred narrative context.
No ritual is prescribed in this verse; it is a narrative warning and identification.