Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 72
निराहारो घोरतपास्तपोराशिरजायत । ततः सोंऽतर्जले चक्रे कालं वर्षसहस्रकम्
nirāhāro ghoratapāstaporāśirajāyata | tataḥ soṃ'tarjale cakre kālaṃ varṣasahasrakam
Dengan berpuasa dan menjalani tapa yang dahsyat, ia menjadi laksana gunung tapas. Lalu ia tinggal di dalam air selama seribu tahun.
Narrator (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa frame)
Tirtha: सरस् (unnamed lake)
Type: kund
Scene: Vajrāṅga, emaciated from fasting, becomes ‘a mountain of tapas’; then he is shown submerged in a lake—only a faint outline or a bubble trail—while time passes above the water’s surface.
FAQs
The verse celebrates tapas as transformative power—fasting and sustained restraint accumulate into formidable spiritual potency.
No explicit tīrtha is named; “within the waters” indicates a mode of penance rather than a particular sacred river or lake.
Fasting (nirāhāra) and water-austerity (antarjala-vāsa) are described as the ascetic regimen.