Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
अथ सा भ्रममाणेन मया दृष्टा मृगेक्षणा । ततोऽहं कामबाणेन तत्क्षणात्ताडितो हृदि
atha sā bhramamāṇena mayā dṛṣṭā mṛgekṣaṇā | tato'haṃ kāmabāṇena tatkṣaṇāttāḍito hṛdi
پھر میں بھٹکتا ہوا تھا کہ میں نے اسے دیکھا—ہرن آنکھوں والی؛ اور اسی لمحے کام دیو کے تیر نے میرے دل کو چھید دیا۔
First-person narrator within the episode (an unnamed male protagonist speaking in the story)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Māhātmya audience (pilgrim/ṛṣi interlocutor not specified in this verse)
Scene: A wandering man pauses upon seeing a deer-eyed maiden; an invisible Kāma releases an arrow that strikes the man’s heart—shown symbolically with a floral arrow and a sudden change in posture and expression.
FAQs
Desire arises swiftly, but Purāṇic narrative typically channels it toward dharmic order—culminating in rightful seeking of marriage.
The encounter occurs within a tīrtha-māhātmya setting; this verse itself does not name the location.
None directly; it sets up the later formal request and lawful marriage procedure.