Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
तपस्तस्य हतं कृत्स्नं यत्कृच्छ्रेण समाचितम् । तथा निस्तेजसत्वं च नीतस्त्वं सुखभाग्भव
tapastasya hataṃ kṛtsnaṃ yatkṛcchreṇa samācitam | tathā nistejasatvaṃ ca nītastvaṃ sukhabhāgbhava
إنَّ كلَّ تَقَشُّفِهِ—الذي جَمَعَهُ بمشقّةٍ عظيمة—قد تَحَطَّمَ كلُّه؛ وقد أُنزِلْتَ أنتَ إلى حالٍ خالٍ من البهاء. فالآن كُنْ ممّن ينال نصيبَ الراحة والهناء.
Rambhā (implied continuation of her report/speech to Indra; speaker not explicitly restated in this verse)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (didactic backdrop)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Indra (Sahasrākṣa) with devas
Scene: Rambhā’s report intensifies: she declares the sage’s accumulated austerity is destroyed; Indra is told he has become ‘without splendor’ and should now enjoy ease—an ironic, political consolation.
FAQs
Tapas is a formidable spiritual force; harming or undermining it leads to loss of tejas and a fall from divine dignity.
Indirectly connected to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya narrative; this verse itself emphasizes the power of austerity rather than describing the site.
No prescription is given; the verse comments on the results of interfering with austerities.