Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 86
ततो बटुकरूपेण संप्राप्तो गालवो मया । संसारस्य विरक्तोऽहं करिष्यामि मह्त्तपः
tato baṭukarūpeṇa saṃprāpto gālavo mayā | saṃsārasya virakto'haṃ kariṣyāmi mahttapaḥ
Alors, sous la forme d’un baṭuka, jeune étudiant célibataire, je m’approchai de Gālava et dis : «Je suis détaché du saṃsāra ; j’entreprendrai une grande austérité (tapas).»
An unnamed narrator (speaking to Gālava) within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative
Type: kshetra
Scene: A youthful brahmacārin with shaven/tonsured head and deer-skin or simple cloth approaches sage Gālava seated by a sacred fire; the youth speaks of detachment and great austerity.
FAQs
External renunciation can be feigned; Purāṇic narratives caution that true vairāgya is proven by inner purity.
The Himalayan ascetic landscape is the implied sacred setting supporting tapas and initiation.
Austerity (tapas) is declared as an intention, preparing the ground for initiation (dīkṣā) in subsequent verses.