Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4
सूत उवाच । पुरासीद्ब्राह्मणो नाम हारीत इति विश्रुतः । स तपस्तत्र संतेपे वानप्रस्थाश्रमे वसन्
sūta uvāca | purāsīdbrāhmaṇo nāma hārīta iti viśrutaḥ | sa tapastatra saṃtepe vānaprasthāśrame vasan
Sūta sprach: Einst gab es einen berühmten Brāhmaṇa namens Hārīta. In der Lebensstufe des Vānaprastha verweilend, übte er dort Askese.
Sūta
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (assembly)
Scene: Sūta begins the tale: the brāhmaṇa Hārīta, living as a vānaprastha, performs austerities at the site that will become central to the tīrtha’s legend.
FAQs
Āśrama-dharma and tapas are presented as forces that sanctify geography—holy places become luminous through disciplined living and austerity.
The verse situates Hārīta’s tapas 'there'—within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya sacred locale connected to Śilākhaṇḍā Devī and Saubhāgya-kūpikā.
Tapas (austerity) aligned with vānaprastha discipline is highlighted as the practice undertaken.