Vamana Purana — Ritadhvaja Aids Galava, Shloka 6
Ritadhvaja’s Aid to Galava and Andhaka’s Infatuation with Gauri
न चेष्यतऽसौ तपसो व्ययं हि शक्तो ऽपि कर्त्तु त्वथ भस्मसात् तम् आकाशमीक्ष्याथ स दीर्घमुष्णं मुमोच निःश्वासमनुत्तमं हि
na ceṣyata'sau tapaso vyayaṃ hi śakto 'pi karttu tvatha bhasmasāt tam ākāśamīkṣyātha sa dīrghamuṣṇaṃ mumoca niḥśvāsamanuttamaṃ hi
Though he was able to reduce him to ashes, he did not do so, for that would have been a waste of his tapas. Then, gazing up into the sky, he released a long, hot, unsurpassed exhalation.
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FAQs
In Purāṇic idiom, tapas is a stored potency (tejas) that can be ‘spent’ for effects. The verse frames restraint as a deliberate conservation of ascetic capital—choosing a less ‘costly’ method than immediate incineration.
Niḥśvāsa is often portrayed as a subtle extension of inner tejas. A heated breath can function like a weapon, a summons, or a catalyst for a miraculous event (here, it sets up the subsequent descent from the sky).
Not directly. The diction ‘tapas’ and ‘maharṣi’ style restraint points more to an ascetic agent; later verses in the sequence must be used to identify whether the actor is a sage, a deity, or a deity acting through ascetic modality.