Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22
हिमाचलगुहागुह्ये ये वसन्ति तपोधनाः । सर्वे ते मामुपागम्य क्षुत्तृषार्तास्तपोधनाः
himācalaguhāguhye ye vasanti tapodhanāḥ | sarve te māmupāgamya kṣuttṛṣārtāstapodhanāḥ
Et ces trésors d’ascèse qui demeurent dans les grottes secrètes de l’Himālaya : tous vinrent à moi, tapodhana, tourmentés par la faim et la soif.
First-person narrator (an unnamed great sage/authority figure addressed later as mahāmune/viprendra)
Tirtha: Himācala-guhā (Himalayan cave-tapas sites, generic)
Type: cave
Listener: Tapodhanas of Himācala (and by extension the assembled ṛṣis)
Scene: From dark, hidden Himalayan caves emerge austere sages—gaunt from hunger and thirst—descending snowy ridges to approach a luminous central figure (the narrator), hands folded, seeking relief and instruction.
FAQs
Even the most accomplished ascetics remain within nature’s constraints; humility and seeking right guidance are part of dharma.
The Himālaya is referenced as an ascetic abode; the narrative trajectory points toward Revā/Narmadā as the sustaining sacred geography.
None stated; the verse frames the crisis (hunger and thirst) that motivates a dharmic relocation.