Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 29
पंचाग्निसा धनं शुक्रे मासि सूर्येण तापिते । चक्रे सुदुःसहं राजन्देवैरपि दुरासदम्
paṃcāgnisā dhanaṃ śukre māsi sūryeṇa tāpite | cakre suduḥsahaṃ rājandevairapi durāsadam
शुक्र-मासात सूर्यतापाने दग्ध होऊन त्याने ‘पंचाग्नी’ तप आचरले—हे राजन्, ते अत्यंत दु:सह व देवांनाही दुर्गम असे होते।
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing a King)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Rājan (King)
Scene: A lone ascetic performing pañcāgni-tapas: four fires at the cardinal directions and the blazing sun overhead, the ground shimmering with heat; the figure steady, eyes inward, while distant devas watch with apprehension.
FAQs
Austerity (tapas) can become so intense that it shakes even the divine order; therefore tapas must be aligned with dharma and right intention.
The verse belongs to the Dharmāraṇya context; the sanctity is tied to the forest-region (Dharmāraṇya) rather than naming a single famous pan-Indian tīrtha in this line.
The pañcāgni observance—sitting amid four fires with the sun as the fifth heat-source—indicating extreme tapas rather than a public ritual.