Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94
अवाक्छिराः प्रलंबेद्यः शतसंवत्सरान्नरः । भीष्मसूवालुकातल्पशयस्तस्माद्वरो हरे
avākchirāḥ pralaṃbedyaḥ śatasaṃvatsarānnaraḥ | bhīṣmasūvālukātalpaśayastasmādvaro hare
ಯಾವನಾದರೂ ನೂರು ವರ್ಷ ತಲೆಕೆಳಗಾಗಿ ತೂಗಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರೂ, ಅಥವಾ ಭೀಕರವಾದ ಮರಳುಶಯ್ಯೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಮಲಗಿದ್ದರೂ—ಹೇ ಹರಾ! ಆ ತಪಸ್ಸಿಗಿಂತ ಗಂಗೆಯ ಕೃಪೆಯೇ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ।
Skanda
Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as superior ‘vara’ to tapas)
Type: ghat
Listener: Hara (Śiva) addressed
Scene: Dramatic ascetic scenes—one hanging upside down from a tree/cliff; another lying on a harsh sandy bed—juxtaposed with tranquil Gaṅgā flow and Śiva’s compassionate gaze, implying Gaṅgā’s superior boon.
FAQs
The Purāṇa elevates Gaṅgā’s sanctity above harsh bodily mortifications, highlighting compassionate purification.
Gaṅgā-tīrtha, within the Kāśī-centered praise of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.
No direct prescription; examples of severe tapas are used as contrasts to Gaṅgā’s superior merit.