Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10
एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु सांकृतिर्मुनिसत्तमः । गुप्तश्चक्रे ततस्तस्यां गर्तायां छन्नवर्ष्मकः । यत्र पूर्वं तपस्तप्तं वृकेण च द्विजाः पुरा
etasminneva kāle tu sāṃkṛtirmunisattamaḥ | guptaścakre tatastasyāṃ gartāyāṃ channavarṣmakaḥ | yatra pūrvaṃ tapastaptaṃ vṛkeṇa ca dvijāḥ purā
En ce même temps, l’excellent sage Sāṃkṛti se dissimula, cachant son corps dans une fosse en ce lieu—là même où jadis le brāhmane Vṛka avait pratiqué les austérités (tapas).
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa context; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)
Type: cave
Scene: A forested tīrtha-zone with a concealed pit/cave; the sage Sāṃkṛti, body hidden, absorbed in tapas; subtle signs of sanctity—flowers, calm light—hinting at a prior ascetic legacy of Vṛka.
FAQs
Holy places retain the ‘memory’ of tapas; later sages draw protection and spiritual potency by practicing in sites sanctified by earlier austerities.
The narrative is anchored in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra region within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
Tapas (austerity) is the emphasized discipline; the verse recalls prior austerities at the same spot.