Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31
वनपालेन सहितो मृगयूथं ददर्श सः । सा मृगी मृगमध्यस्था नारीदेहा मुखे मृगी । मृगवच्चेष्टते बाला धावते च मृगैः सह
vanapālena sahito mṛgayūthaṃ dadarśa saḥ | sā mṛgī mṛgamadhyasthā nārīdehā mukhe mṛgī | mṛgavacceṣṭate bālā dhāvate ca mṛgaiḥ saha
Bersama penjaga rimba, baginda melihat sekawan rusa. Di tengah-tengahnya ada seekor rusa betina—tubuhnya seperti manusia, namun wajahnya wajah rusa. Gadis itu bergerak lincah seperti rusa dan berlari bersama rusa-rusa itu.
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: The king and forest-guard behold a deer herd; in the center runs a young girl with a human body but a deer’s face, moving and fleeing with the deer—an uncanny, poignant vision in the sacred forest.
FAQs
In a consecrated region, the boundary between ordinary nature and divine mystery thins, revealing wonders that prompt inquiry into karma and dharma.
Vastrāpathakṣetra, presented as a landscape where extraordinary signs manifest.
None here; the verse introduces the miraculous figure central to the episode.