Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 175
या हरं ति शिशूञ्जातान्गर्भस्थांश्चैव दारुणाः । काकी च हिलिमा चैव रुद्रा च वृषभा तथा
yā haraṃ ti śiśūñjātāngarbhasthāṃścaiva dāruṇāḥ | kākī ca hilimā caiva rudrā ca vṛṣabhā tathā
وہ نہایت ہولناک ہیں جو نوزائیدہ بچوں کو اور رحم میں موجود جنینوں کو بھی چھین لیتی ہیں۔ (ان میں) کاکی، ہلیما، رودرا اور اسی طرح ورشبھا ہیں۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages
Scene: A grim roll-call of dreadful female entities—Kākī, Hilimā, Rudrā, Vṛṣabhā—shadowy presences around cradles and wombs, contrasted with the implied need for divine protection.
FAQs
Purāṇas acknowledge unseen afflictive forces and frame them within a dharmic cosmos where protection is sought through devotion and divine guardianship.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse lists members of a fearsome group associated with child-afflictions.
No explicit rite is stated here; later verses indicate veneration for pacification and protection.