Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
यत्रस्थः स महीपालः सत्यसंधस्तपोन्वितः । शोकोद्विग्नास्ततः प्राहुस्तं भूपं रहसि स्थितम्
yatrasthaḥ sa mahīpālaḥ satyasaṃdhastaponvitaḥ | śokodvignāstataḥ prāhustaṃ bhūpaṃ rahasi sthitam
وكان هناك حامي الأرض، ثابتًا على الحق ومتحلّيًا بالتقشّف، مقيمًا في ذلك الموضع. وقد اضطربوا من الحزن، ثم خاطبوا ذلك الملك الجالس في خلوةٍ وسرًّا.
Sūta (contextual continuation)
Scene: A grief-stricken council approaches a truth-bound ascetic king seated alone in a forest hermitage near a sacred water/temple precinct; the king is calm yet burdened, the envoys anxious and pleading.
FAQs
Even an austere, truth-bound ruler must face worldly duties; private renunciation is tested when public welfare is at stake.
The verse does not name a tīrtha; it continues the chapter’s tīrtha-linked royal narrative.
Tapas (austerity) is referenced as the king’s practice, though no specific rite is detailed.