किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि तपसे स्थानमुत्तमम् । यस्य पारं न जानंति देवता मुनयो नराः
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi tapase sthānamuttamam | yasya pāraṃ na jānaṃti devatā munayo narāḥ
“Apa yang harus kulakukan? Ke mana aku harus pergi—ke tempat tapa yang paling luhur, yang batas akhirnya bahkan para dewa, resi, dan manusia pun tidak mengetahuinya?”
Lohāsura (as quoted within Sūta’s narration)
Listener: Ṛṣis (forest-assembly)
Scene: Lohāsura speaks aloud in solitude, palms slightly open in questioning; the cosmos seems vast around him—stars, distant mountains/forests—signifying the ‘unknown limit’ of the tapas-dhāma.
True renunciation expresses itself as inquiry: the seeker looks for the highest discipline and the transcendent reality beyond ordinary knowledge.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes the search for the ‘uttama sthāna’ for tapas in a general, aspirational sense.
Tapas (austerity) is the implied discipline, though no specific vrata or procedure is detailed here.