Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 44
केयं कस्य कुतो याता किमर्थं तप्यते तपः । सर्वं मे कथ्यतां सख्यो याथा तथ्येन संप्रति
keyaṃ kasya kuto yātā kimarthaṃ tapyate tapaḥ | sarvaṃ me kathyatāṃ sakhyo yāthā tathyena saṃprati
“ഇവൾ ആരാണ്? ആരുടേതാണ്? എവിടെ നിന്ന് വന്നതാണ്? എന്തിനാണ് തപസ്സു ചെയ്യുന്നത്? ഹേ സഖിമാരേ, ഇപ്പോൾ തന്നെ സത്യമായി എല്ലാം എനിക്ക് പറയുക।”
Śiva (as a brahmacārin/baṭu)
Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedārakṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Inquirer(s) within the Kedāra māhātmya discourse
Scene: The youthful ascetic presses the companions to speak truthfully about the woman’s identity and the purpose of her austerity; the scene is a calm but charged inquiry circle.
FAQs
Spiritual discipline should be grounded in clear intent and truth; inquiry serves to reveal the sincerity behind tapas.
Kedārakhaṇḍa’s Himalayan sacred setting, linked to Kedāranātha and the Śaiva tīrtha landscape.
None directly; the focus is on understanding the purpose (kim-artham) behind austerity.