Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 14
वाय्वम्बुपिण्याकफलैश्च पुष्पैः पर्णैश्च मूलाशनयावकेन । तताप पञ्चाग्नितपोभिरुग्रैस्ततश्च तोषं समगात्स देवः
vāyvambupiṇyākaphalaiśca puṣpaiḥ parṇaiśca mūlāśanayāvakena | tatāpa pañcāgnitapobhirugraistataśca toṣaṃ samagātsa devaḥ
Se nourrissant d’air, d’eau, de tourteau, de fruits, de fleurs, de feuilles, de racines et de bouillie d’orge, il pratiqua de rudes austérités des cinq feux; alors ce Dieu (Śiva) fut satisfait.
Narrator
Tirtha: Revā-tīra (contextual)
Type: ghat
Listener: Mahārāja
Scene: An ascetic on a riverbank sits amid the pañcāgni: four fires around and the blazing sun above; he subsists on minimal offerings—air and water, small portions of fruits/roots/barley gruel—while performing intense penance until Śiva is pleased.
FAQs
Disciplined austerity and simplicity of living, when directed toward devotion, culminate in divine approval.
The broader setting remains the Revā/Narmadā tīrtha region, where such tapas bears exceptional fruit.
Pañcāgni-tapas (austerity with five fires) along with regulated ascetic diet and offerings.