Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
कृष्ण पक्षे चतुर्दश्यां चैत्रमासे द्विजोत्तमाः । न तदा लक्षितस्तेन गच्छमानो यदृच्छया
kṛṣṇa pakṣe caturdaśyāṃ caitramāse dvijottamāḥ | na tadā lakṣitastena gacchamāno yadṛcchayā
హే ద్విజోత్తములారా, చైత్రమాస కృష్ణపక్ష చతుర్దశినాడు ఆ పశువు యదృచ్ఛగా వెళ్లిపోయెను; ఆ సమయంలో అతడు దానిని గమనించలేదు.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced; vocative dvijottamāḥ suggests sages as listeners)
Listener: Dvijottamāḥ (explicitly addressed)
Scene: Nightfall in the forest under a waning moon; the straying animal moves quietly; the cowherd remains unaware; the sky suggests caturdaśī—thin moon, deep blue-black; a faint sacred glow ahead.
FAQs
Purāṇas often mark events by sacred time (tithi and month), implying that karma and grace unfold within cosmic order.
Not named in this verse; it provides calendrical setting within the broader tīrtha-māhātmya.
No direct rite is prescribed here; only the tithi (Caitra kṛṣṇa caturdaśī) is stated.