Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2
बाल एव तु यत्रार्कस्तपस्तेपे पुरा प्रिये । तेन बालार्क इत्येतन्नाम ख्यातं धरातले
bāla eva tu yatrārkastapastepe purā priye | tena bālārka ityetannāma khyātaṃ dharātale
يا حبيبةُ، في الموضع الذي قام فيه إلهُ الشمس قديمًا بالتقشّف وهو بعدُ طفلٌ، اشتهر ذلك المكان على ظهر الأرض باسم «بالاركا» (شمسُ الطفولة).
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Bālārka
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Mythic tableau: a youthful Sun (child form) seated in meditation, radiating gentle yet potent light over a small tīrtha pool; sages and nature respond—lotuses open, birds circle—signifying tapas transforming the landscape.
FAQs
Tapas (austerity) is honored as a source of sanctity; even the gods model discipline to bless a place.
Bālārka, the Sun’s tīrtha named from the legend of the child-Sun’s austerities.
No explicit rite; the verse explains the origin of the tīrtha’s name through the Sun’s tapas.