Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 49
दशवर्षसहस्राणि तपोनिष्ठा तु तप्स्यसे । वज्रसारमयैरंगैरच्छेद्यैरायसैर्दृढैः
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi taponiṣṭhā tu tapsyase | vajrasāramayairaṃgairacchedyairāyasairdṛḍhaiḥ
तुम तप में निष्ठ होकर दस हज़ार वर्ष तपस्या करोगी; तब (पुत्र) वज्र-सार से बने अंगों वाला, अछेद्य, लोहे-सा कठोर और दृढ़ होगा।
Kaśyapa (Prajāpati) (contextual deduction)
Scene: Kaśyapa prescribes a ten-thousand-year austerity; Diti is shown preparing for severe tapas, while a symbolic aura of thunderbolt-essence forms around the envisioned child’s limbs—iron-hard, uncuttable.
FAQs
Great power is portrayed as the fruit of long discipline (tapas), not mere desire—yet its intention must align with dharma.
None; the emphasis is on tapas as a spiritual method.
A prescribed austerity: sustained tapas for ten thousand years.