Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 44
तपस्तेपे महाभाग विधिना सह भारत । न शक्यं केनचित्कर्त्तुमात्मनात्मैव तुष्टवान्
tapastepe mahābhāga vidhinā saha bhārata | na śakyaṃ kenacitkarttumātmanātmaiva tuṣṭavān
हे महाभाग भारत, त्यांनी विधात्यासह (ब्रह्मासह) तप केले. हे कोणालाही करणे शक्य नाही; ते आपल्या आत्मस्वरूपानेच तृप्त, स्वयंसिद्ध झाले।
Narrator addressing ‘Bhārata’ (epic-style addressee within Purāṇic narration)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya-tīrtha (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Bhārata
Scene: Viṣṇu in deep tapas, with Brahmā (Vidhātr̥) nearby in reverent austerity; the atmosphere is still, luminous, and inward—suggesting self-fulfillment.
FAQs
The Supreme is not compelled by external force; divine fulfillment is intrinsic, and tapas is undertaken for loka-saṅgraha (the welfare of the worlds).
Implicitly Dharmāraṇya, since the tapas described continues the Dharmāraṇya episode tied to tīrtha-prādurbhāva.
Tapas is emphasized; the verse frames austerity as a sacred discipline associated with divine purpose.