Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51
देवा ऊचुः । देवाश्च दुःखातुरचेतसो भृशं हतप्रभास्त्यक्तगृहाश्रयाखिलाः । संप्राप्य मासांश्चतुरः स्तपः स्थिता देवे प्रसुप्ते हरतोषणं परम्
devā ūcuḥ | devāśca duḥkhāturacetaso bhṛśaṃ hataprabhāstyaktagṛhāśrayākhilāḥ | saṃprāpya māsāṃścaturaḥ stapaḥ sthitā deve prasupte haratoṣaṇaṃ param
Les Devas dirent : «Les dieux, l’esprit vivement accablé par la peine, l’éclat terni, ayant abandonné tout refuge du foyer, demeurèrent en austérités durant quatre mois—tandis que le Seigneur reposait dans le sommeil yogique—ne cherchant par-dessus tout qu’à plaire à Hara (Śiva).»
Devas
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (frame) / Mandarācala (episode setting)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śiva (as the one to be pleased) / narrative audience is Nārada via Brahmā
Scene: The devas speak collectively: their radiance diminished, having left their homes, they stand or sit in austere posture for four months, performing tapas near Mandara while Śiva rests in yogic sleep, the atmosphere heavy with devotion and urgency.
FAQs
In crisis, the dhārmic response is sustained tapas and devotion; pleasing Śiva through discipline becomes the highest refuge and remedy.
The verse supports the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya and Mandara-oriented Śiva-darśana narrative, emphasizing the sanctity of Śiva-centered sacred space and time.
Cāturmāsya-like observance is implied: four months of tapas aimed at Hara-toṣaṇa (pleasing Śiva), marked by restraint and devotional discipline.