Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32
विशेषाद्यतिधर्मेण तपोलौल्यं समाश्रिताः । नरकं यान्त्यसन्दिग्धमित्येवं शङ्करोऽब्रवीत्
viśeṣādyatidharmeṇa tapolaulyaṃ samāśritāḥ | narakaṃ yāntyasandigdhamityevaṃ śaṅkaro'bravīt
Insbesondere jene, die die Disziplin der Entsagenden annehmen, doch an der Gier nach Askesen hängen, gehen ohne Zweifel zur Hölle — so sprach Śaṅkara.
Śaṅkara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Revā tīrtha context (general)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Śaṅkara speaks with uncompromising clarity to a group of renunciants: some sincere, others visibly proud; one performs severe austerity with a self-satisfied gaze; behind them, a shadowy hell motif symbolizes consequence.
FAQs
Austerity without inner purity—driven by craving, display, or fixation—becomes spiritually harmful rather than liberating.
No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is ethical instruction within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Śaiva teaching.
A caution against adopting renunciant disciplines for the wrong motive; tapas must be aligned with dharma and humility.