Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 37
पंचाग्निसेवनं कृत्वा धूम्रपानमधोमुखी । कूटाक्षरैः स्तुतस्तैस्तु तोषितो वृषभध्वजः
paṃcāgnisevanaṃ kṛtvā dhūmrapānamadhomukhī | kūṭākṣaraiḥ stutastaistu toṣito vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ
Après avoir accompli l’observance des cinq feux et bu la fumée, le visage tourné vers le bas, elle le loua par des syllabes énigmatiques ; par ces louanges, le Seigneur à l’étendard du Taureau (Śiva) fut comblé.
Deductive: a Purāṇic narrator addressing a king
Scene: An ascetic woman performing pañcāgni-tapas: four fires around and the sun overhead; she bends face-downward in a smoke-drinking observance, offering cryptic seed-syllable praises; Śiva with bull-banner is subtly present, pleased.
FAQs
Intense austerity and sincere praise, when aligned with devotion, are shown as capable of pleasing Śiva.
The practices occur within Dharmāraṇya’s sacred ambit, contributing to the forest’s sanctity in the māhātmya.
Pañcāgni-sevana (five-fire austerity) and stuti (hymnic praise) are explicitly mentioned.