Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
युधिष्ठिर उवाच । आश्चर्यमेतल्लोकेषु यत्त्वया कथितं मुने । न दृष्टं न श्रुतं तात शूलस्थेन तपः कृतम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | āścaryametallokeṣu yattvayā kathitaṃ mune | na dṛṣṭaṃ na śrutaṃ tāta śūlasthena tapaḥ kṛtam
യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ മുനേ! നിങ്ങൾ പറഞ്ഞത് ലോകങ്ങളിൽ മഹാ അത്ഭുതമാണ്. താതാ! ശൂലത്തിൽ നിലകൊണ്ട് തപസ്സു ചെയ്തതെന്നു ഞാൻ കണ്ടതുമില്ല, കേട്ടതുമില്ല.
Yudhiṣṭhira
Tirtha: Māṇḍavya-tīrtha (implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya (and assembled sages)
Scene: A royal assembly: Yudhiṣṭhira, astonished, addresses a sage; in the mind’s eye appears the severe image of an ascetic performing tapas upon a stake (śūla), evoking awe and reverence.
FAQs
True tapas can be extraordinary and rare; the listener is urged toward reverent inquiry rather than disbelief when encountering accounts of intense asceticism.
The verse itself focuses on the marvel of śūlastha tapas; the tīrtha context is the Revā Khaṇḍa site being described in the surrounding narration.
None directly; it is a question expressing astonishment and prompting further explanation.