Sarasvatī-Śāpavimokṣa, Rākṣasa-Mokṣa, and Aruṇā-Tīrtha
Indra–Namuci Expiation
यत्र स्थाणुर्महाराज तप्तवान् परमं तप: । तत्रास्य कर्म तद् घोरं प्रवदन्ति मनीषिण:,महाराज! जहाँ भगवान् स्थाणुने बड़ी भारी तपस्या की थी, वहाँ मनीषी पुरुष उनके घोर तपका वर्णन करते हैं
yatra sthāṇur mahārāja taptavān paramaṃ tapaḥ | tatrāsya karma tad ghoraṃ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô grand roi, en ce lieu même où le Seigneur Sthāṇu accomplit l’austérité suprême, les sages rapportent l’acte terrible qui lui est associé, se souvenant de la puissance redoutable et des conséquences du tapas.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights the moral and spiritual weight of tapas: supreme austerity generates formidable power, and the tradition remembers not only the ascetic achievement but also the grave, fearsome consequences of the deeds connected with it.
Vaiśampāyana points out a specific sacred location and notes that sages describe how Sthāṇu (Śiva) practiced intense austerity there, along with a ‘ghora karma’—a dreadful associated act or episode—thus framing the place as charged with divine ascetic history.