Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4
हिरण्याक्षसुतः पूर्वं महिषोनाम दानवः । आसीन्महिषरूपेण येन भुक्तं जगत्त्रयम्
hiraṇyākṣasutaḥ pūrvaṃ mahiṣonāma dānavaḥ | āsīnmahiṣarūpeṇa yena bhuktaṃ jagattrayam
กาลก่อนมีอสูรนามว่า มหิษะ เป็นบุตรแห่งหิรัณยากษะ เขาอาศัยรูปควายเข้าครอบงำ กดขี่ และย่ำยีไตรโลกย์ทั้งสาม
Sūta
Listener: Ṛṣis
Scene: A dramatic tableau: Mahiṣa as a massive buffalo-headed/ buffalo-bodied asura trampling symbolic representations of the three worlds; devas in distress above; stormy sky; the impending radiance of Devī at the horizon.
FAQs
When adharma gains power and ‘devours’ the worlds, divine intervention arises—setting the stage for Devī’s restoration of cosmic balance.
This verse is mythic background rather than site-specific praise; it supports the Devī’s māhātmya within the broader tīrtha discourse.
None; it provides narrative identification of the antagonist (Mahiṣa).