Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11
ईश्वर उवाच । किमर्थं पिबसे धूमं किमर्थं तप्यसे तपः । किं दुःखं किं नु सन्तापो वद कार्यमभीप्सितम्
īśvara uvāca | kimarthaṃ pibase dhūmaṃ kimarthaṃ tapyase tapaḥ | kiṃ duḥkhaṃ kiṃ nu santāpo vada kāryamabhīpsitam
ഈശ്വരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—നീ പുക എന്തിന് കുടിക്കുന്നു? എന്തിന് തപസ്സു ചെയ്യുന്നു? ഏത് ദുഃഖം, ഏത് ദഹനം ഇത്? പറയുക—നിന്റെ അഭീഷ്ട ലക്ഷ്യം എന്ത്?
Śiva (Īśvara)
Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa tapas-sthala (unnamed)
Listener: Tapas-performing figure (Dānava or ascetic)
Scene: A gaunt ascetic (or Dānava in tapas guise) sits amid a ring of smoldering embers, inhaling smoke; Śiva stands nearby, compassionate yet probing, palm extended in inquiry; ash, matted hair, and heat-haze fill the scene.
FAQs
Austerity should be purposeful and examined; the Divine asks for clarity of intention before granting outcomes.
No named tīrtha appears; the scene remains within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred-geography setting.
An austerity is referenced (dhūma-drinking and tapas), but no formal vow procedure is specified.