Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 11
वैखानस मतस्थस्तु फलमूलाशनोपि वा । तपसा शोषयेद्देहं पितॄन्देवांश्च तर्पयेत्
vaikhānasa matasthastu phalamūlāśanopi vā | tapasā śoṣayeddehaṃ pitṝndevāṃśca tarpayet
Im Vaikhānasa-Brauch gefestigt—selbst von Früchten und Wurzeln lebend—soll er den Leib durch Tapas zügeln und durch die gebührenden Opfer sowohl die Ahnen als auch die Götter sättigen.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Scene: A forest-dwelling brāhmaṇa-ascetic, lean from tapas, subsisting on fruits and roots, performs tarpaṇa with water in cupped palms—one stream offered to pitṛs, another to devas—under a sacred tree with a calm, luminous aura.
FAQs
Austerity is not mere self-denial; it is disciplined living that sustains cosmic obligations—gratitude to ancestors and reverence to the gods.
The broader teaching belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa (Vārāṇasī’s sacred dharma setting), though this verse itself emphasizes āśrama-dharma rather than naming a single tīrtha.
Tarpaṇa—satisfying Pitṛs and Devas through appropriate offerings (water/oblations as per one’s rite).