भद्रवटगमनम् — स्कन्देन महिषदानवनिग्रहः
Bhadravaṭa Procession and Skanda’s Neutralization of Mahiṣa
दशवर्षसहस््राणि तपस्तप्त्वा महातपा: । जनयत् पावकं घोरं पितृणां स प्रजा: सृजन्
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi tapastaptvā mahātapāḥ | janayat pāvakaṃ ghoraṃ pitṝṇāṃ sa prajāḥ sṛjan |
मार्कण्डेय बोले—महातपस्वी पाञ्चजन्य ने दस हजार वर्षों तक घोर तप किया। फिर पितरों के वंश को चलाने की इच्छा से उसने भयंकर पवित्र अग्नि प्रकट की और संतान-उत्पत्ति में प्रवृत्त हुआ।
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
The verse highlights pitṛ-dharma: sustaining one’s ancestral line and obligations through disciplined tapas and properly established ritual fire, showing that personal austerity is directed toward responsibility, not mere self-display.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates how a great ascetic undertakes a long period of severe austerity, then kindles a powerful sacrificial fire and proceeds to generate progeny for the sake of continuing his forefathers’ lineage.