Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9
साक्षात्तपस्यंतमिव तपो धृत्वा नराकृतिम् । निराकृतिं निराकाशं कृत्वा भक्तिं च कांचनम्
sākṣāttapasyaṃtamiva tapo dhṛtvā narākṛtim | nirākṛtiṃ nirākāśaṃ kṛtvā bhaktiṃ ca kāṃcanam
C’était comme si le tapas lui-même avait pris une forme humaine, accomplissant l’austérité en personne ; rendant abordable la Réalité sans forme, omniprésente comme l’espace, et faisant de la dévotion une chose d’or, palpable et lumineuse.
Narrator (Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Scene: An ascetic who seems like ‘Tapas’ incarnate; around him, the abstract becomes visible—space-like vastness rendered as a subtle luminous field; devotion appears as a golden sheen, as if bhakti itself has become a tangible ornament.
FAQs
Austerity and devotion together make the subtle, formless truth approachable in lived religious experience.
The verse functions within Dharmāraṇya’s Mahātmya atmosphere rather than naming a specific tīrtha in this line.
No explicit prescription; the focus is theological praise of tapas and bhakti.