Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 49
मुक्तिकामैर्नरैः सेव्यं पुनस्तेषां न संभवः । त्रिपुंड्रं कुरुते यस्तु भस्मना विधिपूर्वकम्
muktikāmairnaraiḥ sevyaṃ punasteṣāṃ na saṃbhavaḥ | tripuṃḍraṃ kurute yastu bhasmanā vidhipūrvakam
मुक्ति की कामना करने वाले पुरुषों को इसका सेवन करना चाहिए; उनके लिए फिर जन्म नहीं होता। जो विधिपूर्वक भस्म से त्रिपुण्ड्र करता है, वह उस परम फल को प्राप्त करता है।
Deductive attribution: Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition within Brāhma Khaṇḍa)
Scene: A renunciate-like devotee (or any seeker) carefully prepares sacred ash and draws three horizontal lines on the forehead with composed focus, suggesting the path to apunarbhava.
FAQs
A disciplined Śaiva mark (Tripuṇḍra with bhasma), done correctly, is upheld as a liberation-oriented practice.
No tīrtha is specified; the focus is on a pan-Purāṇic Śaiva rite (bhasma and Tripuṇḍra).
Apply the Tripuṇḍra using sacred ash (bhasma) in a vidhi-pūrvaka (rule-based) manner.