Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
यत्रस्थः स महीपालः सत्यसंधस्तपोन्वितः । शोकोद्विग्नास्ततः प्राहुस्तं भूपं रहसि स्थितम्
yatrasthaḥ sa mahīpālaḥ satyasaṃdhastaponvitaḥ | śokodvignāstataḥ prāhustaṃ bhūpaṃ rahasi sthitam
Là se tenait le protecteur de la terre, ferme dans la vérité et riche d’austérités. Bouleversés par le chagrin, ils s’adressèrent alors, en secret, à ce roi assis à l’écart.
Sūta (contextual continuation)
Scene: A grief-stricken council approaches a truth-bound ascetic king seated alone in a forest hermitage near a sacred water/temple precinct; the king is calm yet burdened, the envoys anxious and pleading.
FAQs
Even an austere, truth-bound ruler must face worldly duties; private renunciation is tested when public welfare is at stake.
The verse does not name a tīrtha; it continues the chapter’s tīrtha-linked royal narrative.
Tapas (austerity) is referenced as the king’s practice, though no specific rite is detailed.