Shloka 6
भद्रवटगमनम् — स्कन्देन महिषदानवनिग्रहः
Bhadravaṭa Procession and Skanda’s Neutralization of Mahiṣa
दशवर्षसहस््राणि तपस्तप्त्वा महातपा: । जनयत् पावकं घोरं पितृणां स प्रजा: सृजन्
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi tapastaptvā mahātapāḥ | janayat pāvakaṃ ghoraṃ pitṝṇāṃ sa prajāḥ sṛjan |
Mārkaṇḍeya dit : «Après avoir pratiqué de rudes austérités durant dix mille ans, ce grand ascète alluma un redoutable feu sacré ; et, résolu à faire durer la lignée de ses ancêtres, il entreprit d’engendrer une descendance.»
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights pitṛ-dharma: sustaining one’s ancestral line and obligations through disciplined tapas and properly established ritual fire, showing that personal austerity is directed toward responsibility, not mere self-display.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates how a great ascetic undertakes a long period of severe austerity, then kindles a powerful sacrificial fire and proceeds to generate progeny for the sake of continuing his forefathers’ lineage.