Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19
सूत उवाच । जज्ञे दाक्षायणी ब्रह्मन्विदग्धावयवा यदा । विना शक्त्या महेशोऽपि तताप परमं तपः
sūta uvāca | jajñe dākṣāyaṇī brahmanvidagdhāvayavā yadā | vinā śaktyā maheśo'pi tatāpa paramaṃ tapaḥ
Sūta dit : « Ô brāhmaṇa, lorsque Dākṣāyaṇī — ses membres brûlés — eut péri, même Maheśa, privé de Śakti, entreprit la plus haute austérité. »
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)
Tirtha: Kedāra (Himalayan Śaiva region)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brāhmaṇa/ṛṣis (addressed as ‘brahman’)
Scene: Sūta narrates: Satī (Dākṣāyaṇī) has perished, her body burned; Śiva, bereft of Śakti, enters profound austerity—an image of stillness amid cosmic sorrow.
FAQs
Even the Lord models tapas—steadfast inner discipline—showing that spiritual power is cultivated through austerity and divine purpose.
The chapter context points toward the Himalayan Kedāra sphere where Śiva’s tapas sanctifies the landscape, though the verse does not name a tirtha directly.
Tapas (austerity) is praised as the supreme spiritual discipline, but no specific vow or procedure is detailed here.