Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7
अतितेजोरवेर्दृष्ट्वा राज्ञी देवी नरोत्तम । चचार मेरुकान्तारे वडवा तप उल्बणम्
atitejoraverdṛṣṭvā rājñī devī narottama | cacāra merukāntāre vaḍavā tapa ulbaṇam
सूर्याचे अतितीव्र तेज पाहून, हे नरश्रेष्ठा, दिव्य राणी देवी मेरूच्या वनप्रदेशात वडवा-रूप धारण करून घोर तप करू लागली।
Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing)
Tirtha: Meru-kāntāra (mythic tapas-kṣetra)
Type: peak
Scene: A divine queen, transformed into a mare, roams a luminous, otherworldly forest at Meru’s slopes; the Sun’s radiance is oppressive, bathing the scene in gold-white glare; ascetic intensity is shown through stillness amid blazing light.
FAQs
When divine power becomes overwhelming, Purāṇic narratives often teach restraint and transformation through tapas, showing austerity as a means of cosmic balance.
The chapter overall introduces Āśvina Tīrtha, but this verse shifts to mythic geography—Meru—within the explanatory backstory.
No formal ritual is prescribed; it describes intense tapas undertaken in a particular form (vaḍavā).