Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 42
इति संचिंत्य बिल्वस्य वृक्षस्याधो व्यवस्थितः । जजाप मन्त्रान्रुद्रस्य अंगुष्ठाग्रेण धिष्ठितः
iti saṃciṃtya bilvasya vṛkṣasyādho vyavasthitaḥ | jajāpa mantrānrudrasya aṃguṣṭhāgreṇa dhiṣṭhitaḥ
Ayant ainsi médité, il se tint sous un arbre de bilva et se mit à réciter en japa les mantras de Rudra, assis dans une concentration immobile, prenant pour appui la pointe du pouce (en une posture yogique fixée).
Narrative voice (Maheshvara Khanda context: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa relating events)
Listener: Bhārata (addressed later in the sequence)
Scene: An ascetic sits motionless beneath a spreading bilva tree, eyes half-closed, fingers poised with thumb-tip support, silently reciting Rudra-mantras; the grove is still, with faint aura suggesting tapas-heat and Śiva’s presence.
FAQs
Focused japa with steadiness of posture and mind is portrayed as the heart of effective tapas.
The verse highlights the sacred setting (beneath a bilva tree) but does not name the tīrtha explicitly.
Rudra-mantra japa performed in a fixed posture, in a sanctified place associated with bilva.