Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 73
सूत उवाच । तस्यास्तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा भगवाञ्छशिशेखरः । अब्रवीद्राजपुत्रीं तां मेघगंभीरया गिरा । वत्से मद्वचनादद्य तपस्त्वं त्यक्तुमर्हसि
sūta uvāca | tasyāstadvacanaṃ śrutvā bhagavāñchaśiśekharaḥ | abravīdrājaputrīṃ tāṃ meghagaṃbhīrayā girā | vatse madvacanādadya tapastvaṃ tyaktumarhasi
Sūta sprach: Als der erhabene Herr Śaśiśekhara ihre Worte vernommen hatte, sagte er zu jener Königstochter mit einer Stimme, tief wie donnernde Wolken: «Kind, auf mein Geheiß sollst du heute deine Askese beenden.»
Sūta (narrator); Śiva (Śaśiśekhara) is the quoted speaker
Type: kund
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: Śiva, crescent-mooned, speaks with thunderous gentleness to a princess; the air feels like monsoon clouds—powerful yet soothing—signaling the completion of her austerity.
FAQs
Austerity bears fruit when aligned with divine grace; the Lord himself may release a devotee from prolonged tapas.
The verse sets the scene for a local tīrtha narrative in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya (the specific pond/tīrtha is named in the following verses).
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it indicates the completion/cessation of tapas by Śiva’s command.