Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 34
वायुभक्षः शतं साग्रं तदर्धं रविवीक्षकः । एवं ध्यानरतस्यैव प्रत्यक्षस्त्रिपुरान्तकः
vāyubhakṣaḥ śataṃ sāgraṃ tadardhaṃ ravivīkṣakaḥ | evaṃ dhyānaratasyaiva pratyakṣastripurāntakaḥ
शंभराहून थोडे अधिक दिवस तो केवळ वायूवर जगला; त्याच्या अर्ध्या काळात सूर्याकडे दृष्टि स्थिर ठेवली. अशा ध्यानरतास त्रिपुरान्तक (शिव) प्रत्यक्ष झाले।
Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit in snippet)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) northern bank tapas-sthāna (associated with Maṇināga)
Type: ghat
Scene: Maṇināga stands or sits in fierce austerity: emaciated yet radiant, sustained by air; eyes fixed on the blazing sun. Suddenly Tripurāntaka Śiva appears before him—ash-smeared, crescent-mooned, with trident—surrounded by a halo, granting direct presence.
FAQs
Sincere, sustained dhyāna and tapas culminate in divine grace—Śiva’s direct revelation (darśana).
Implicitly the Revā/Narmadā tapas-bhūmi of the chapter, though this verse focuses on practice and result (Śiva’s manifestation).
Austerities such as living on air (vāyu-bhakṣa) and sun-gazing (ravi-vīkṣa) are mentioned as tapas; they are narrative descriptions, not general injunctions.