Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 122
भवत्सु च स्वर्गतेषु गयोऽपि सुमहत्तपः । तप्त्वा प्राप्य पुनः पुंस्त्वं लोकान्संपीडयिष्यति
bhavatsu ca svargateṣu gayo'pi sumahattapaḥ | taptvā prāpya punaḥ puṃstvaṃ lokānsaṃpīḍayiṣyati
Et lorsque vous serez partis au ciel, Gaya aussi—ayant accompli une austérité immensément grande—retrouvera de nouveau la virilité, puis il opprimera les mondes.
Devī (Goddess)
Tirtha: Gayatrāḍa (legend of Gaya)
Type: kshetra
Scene: After the interlocutors ascend to heaven, ‘Gaya’ performs fierce austerity—standing amid fire or in river waters, emaciated yet radiant—then regains virility symbolized by a returning golden aura; later panels show him looming over the worlds, causing ‘saṃpīḍana’ (oppression), with devas distressed.
FAQs
Power gained through tapas is morally neutral; without dharma it can become a cause of suffering, requiring divine correction.
Gaya is mentioned as a figure; the tīrtha focus is not explicit in this verse alone, but the narrative points toward a sacred corrective event tied to a pilgrimage locale.
Austerity (tapas) is referenced, but no pilgrim-ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is directly prescribed here.