Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19
एष ते शरणं प्राप्तो मम पुत्रस्तु बालकः । पापाया निर्दयायाश्च तस्माद्रक्षां समाचर
eṣa te śaraṇaṃ prāpto mama putrastu bālakaḥ | pāpāyā nirdayāyāśca tasmādrakṣāṃ samācara
ഇത് എന്റെ പുത്രൻ, ഈ ചെറുബാലൻ, നിന്റെ ശരണം പ്രാപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. അതിനാൽ പാപിനിയും നിർദയയുമായ (ഭീഷണി)യിൽ നിന്ന് അവനെ കാത്തരുളേണമേ.
The mother (tapasvinī)
Tirtha: Śaraṇya-Aśvattha (epithet implied)
Type: ghat
Scene: The mother points gently toward the infant and pleads: ‘He has come for refuge’; her face shows desperation and faith, the aśvattha towering like a guardian.
FAQs
Śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) is portrayed as a dharmic act that invokes protective grace through a sanctified presence.
The sanctified area under the Aśvattha is the focal sacred geography, functioning as a protective tīrtha-space.
A plea for rakṣā (protective guardianship) is made; no formal vow or bathing rite is stated here.