Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 72
कीर्तिर्धृतिश्च लक्ष्मीश्च नव देव्यः सिषेविरे । सप्तविंशतिरिंदोस्तु दाक्षायण्यो महाव्रताः
kīrtirdhṛtiśca lakṣmīśca nava devyaḥ siṣevire | saptaviṃśatiriṃdostu dākṣāyaṇyo mahāvratāḥ
कीर्ती, धृती व लक्ष्मी—आणि इतर देव्या—अशा नऊ दिव्य देव्या त्याची सेवा करीत. तसेच इंदू (चंद्र) याच्या दाक्षायणी नावाच्या सत्तावीस कन्या महाव्रतधारिणी होत्या।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A celestial assembly: Soma enthroned, attended by nine goddesses including Kīrti, Dhṛti, Lakṣmī; behind them a garland-like circle of twenty-seven Nakṣatra maidens, each marked by a star emblem, signifying the lunar month’s rhythm.
FAQs
Cosmic order is upheld through vowed powers (mahāvrata) and divine virtues (kīrti, dhṛti, lakṣmī) aligned with Soma’s rule.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra, as the māhātmya narrates Soma’s relationship with the Nakṣatras to magnify the kṣetra’s sacred scope.
No direct ritual; the phrase mahāvratāḥ highlights vow-based sanctity associated with the Dākṣāyaṇīs.