Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
गोपकन्यां च तां ज्ञात्वा गोश्च वक्त्रेण पद्मजः । प्रवेश्याकर्षयामास गुह्येन च ततः परम्
gopakanyāṃ ca tāṃ jñātvā gośca vaktreṇa padmajaḥ | praveśyākarṣayāmāsa guhyena ca tataḥ param
അവളെ ഗോപകന്യയെന്നു തിരിച്ചറിഞ്ഞ പദ്മജൻ (ബ്രഹ്മാവ്) അവളെ പശുവിന്റെ വായ്മുഖേന അകത്ത് പ്രവേശിപ്പിച്ചു; പിന്നെ ഗൂഢോപായത്താൽ അവളെ തന്റെ അടുക്കലേക്ക് ആകർഷിച്ചു।
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta-style narration within Māhātmya)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Brahmā (Padmaja) recognizes a gopa-kanyā; a sacred cow’s mouth becomes a liminal gateway; the maiden is drawn inward by an unseen ‘guhya’ force, suggesting māyā and transmutation.
FAQs
It uses symbolic imagery to connect ritual power, secrecy, and social-sacred order—elements that Purāṇas often employ to ground tīrtha traditions.
The verse is mythic groundwork within the chapter; the tīrtha identification is typically provided by the surrounding māhātmya passage.
No direct prescription; the verse describes an extraordinary, ‘guhya’ (esoteric) narrative action.