सूत उवाच । पूर्वं स्वायंभुवस्यादौ मनोर्दैत्यो महाबलः । हिरण्याक्षो महातेजास्तपोवीर्यसमन्वितः
sūta uvāca | pūrvaṃ svāyaṃbhuvasyādau manordaityo mahābalaḥ | hiraṇyākṣo mahātejāstapovīryasamanvitaḥ
សូតាបានពោលថា៖ កាលពីមុន នៅដើមស្វាយಂಭូវមន្វន្តរ មានដៃត្យមួយរបស់មនុ មានកម្លាំងមហិមា—ហិរណ្យាក្សៈ ពន្លឺរុងរឿង និងពេញដោយអំណាចកើតពីតបៈ។
Sūta
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Sūta begins the ancient tale: at the dawn of Svāyambhuva Manvantara, the mighty daitya Hiraṇyākṣa appears, radiant with tapas-born power.
Austerity (tapas) grants power, but without dharma it can empower forces that disturb cosmic and social order.
This verse sets the mythic background; the tīrtha focus emerges in the surrounding passage (notably Gaṅgādvāra later in the narrative).
No direct ritual is prescribed; tapas is referenced as a source of potency, framing the moral contrast between power and righteousness.