Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47
बाला विद्याधरसुता नाम्ना मलयगंधिनी । क्रीडंती पितुराक्रोडे हृता कंकालकेतुना
bālā vidyādharasutā nāmnā malayagaṃdhinī | krīḍaṃtī piturākroḍe hṛtā kaṃkālaketunā
ایک کم سن لڑکی، ودیادھر کی بیٹی، جس کا نام ملایہ گندھنی تھا، اپنے باپ کی گود میں کھیل رہی تھی—کہ کَنکالکیتو نے اسے اغوا کر لیا۔
Skanda (deduced)
Listener: The king addressed in the surrounding dialogue
Scene: A celestial Vidyādhara father holds his little daughter on his lap; a fearsome being named Kaṃkālaketu swoops in to abduct her, creating a dramatic contrast between tenderness and terror.
FAQs
Puranic narratives often show how innocence is threatened by adharma, preparing the ground for divine or dhārmic intervention.
The episode is narrated within the Kāśī-kṣetra framework of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, even when events range beyond Kāśī.
None in this verse; it establishes the plot (abduction) that motivates protective action.