Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 121
उत्थितो वीक्षते यावत्तावत्पश्यति तं हरिम् । अधो नरं स्थितं सिंहमुपरिष्टाद्विभी षणम्
utthito vīkṣate yāvattāvatpaśyati taṃ harim | adho naraṃ sthitaṃ siṃhamupariṣṭādvibhī ṣaṇam
เมื่อเขาลุกขึ้นมองไปรอบ ๆ ก็ได้เห็นพระหริ: เบื้องล่างเป็นมนุษย์ เบื้องบนเป็นสิงห์—รูปอันน่าสะพรึงยิ่ง
Narrator within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa (contextual; likely Sūta recounting the episode)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Nṛsiṃha-darśana-sthāna)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis
Scene: Hiraṇyakaśipu beholds Hari in a paradoxical body: human below, lion above—towering, radiant, terrifying; the split pillar frames the emergence, with stunned figures around.
FAQs
The divine assumes whatever form is needed to protect dharma—beyond ordinary categories and expectations.
The retelling belongs to Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, situating the theophany within sacred landscape praise.
No; the shloka focuses on darśana (vision) of the Lord’s form.