Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10
अथ ते सन्निधौ दृष्ट्वा गंभीरं सलिलाशयम् । प्रविष्टा हरिणाः सर्वे भयार्ताः शरपीडिताः
atha te sannidhau dṛṣṭvā gaṃbhīraṃ salilāśayam | praviṣṭā hariṇāḥ sarve bhayārtāḥ śarapīḍitāḥ
Kemudian, apabila mereka melihat di dekatnya sebuah takungan air yang dalam, semua rusa yang tersiksa oleh ketakutan dan terluka oleh anak panah para pemburu pun masuk ke dalamnya.
Sūta
Type: kund
Listener: dvijottama (addressed as ‘best of the twice-born’)
Scene: A herd of deer, pierced by arrows and panicked, rushes into a dark, deep pool beside a forest path; hunters loom at the edge with bows, dust and leaves swirling.
FAQs
Sacred waters are portrayed as refuge and turning-point—anticipating the tīrtha’s later role as purifier and protector.
The water-body that becomes central to the Mṛgatīrtha-māhātmya narrative.
No explicit prescription here, but the narrative foregrounds water as the medium of sanctification that later supports snāna-based merit.