Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 72
इति चेति हरिष्यामि तपसा रक्षितां मुनेः । अस्याः कृते यदि शपेन्मुनिस्तत्र पराभवः
iti ceti hariṣyāmi tapasā rakṣitāṃ muneḥ | asyāḥ kṛte yadi śapenmunistatra parābhavaḥ
“If that be so, I shall take her away—even though she is guarded by the sage’s power of austerity.” Yet if the sage were to curse me on her account, ruin would surely be mine.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating within Māheśvara-khaṇḍa to the sages (deduced)
Listener: (Contextual) interlocutor of the Skanda narration
Scene: A powerful figure resolves to abduct a protected woman, yet hesitates, visualizing the invisible shield of the sage’s austerity and the looming specter of a curse.
FAQs
Austerity (tapas) carries spiritual potency, and violating dharmic protection invites karmic downfall, often through a sage’s curse.
No tīrtha is named; the focus is on the moral force of tapas within the narrative.
No ritual is prescribed; tapas is referenced as protective spiritual power.