Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94
उत्तरांश्च कुरून्प्राप चरंती नीरसंतृणम् । व्युत्तेपे च तपस्तीव्रं पतिमाधाय चेतसि । तपोबलेन तत्पत्युः सहिष्ये तेज इत्यलम्
uttarāṃśca kurūnprāpa caraṃtī nīrasaṃtṛṇam | vyuttepe ca tapastīvraṃ patimādhāya cetasi | tapobalena tatpatyuḥ sahiṣye teja ityalam
ती उत्तर कुरूंमध्ये पोहोचली, जलरहित तृणावर भटकत. मनात पतीदेवाला धारण करून तिने तीव्र तप आरंभले आणि निश्चय केला—‘तपाच्या बळावर त्या पतीचे तेज मी सहन करीन—इतकेच!’
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Uttara Kuru (mythic)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: A mare wanders in a stark northern landscape with pale grasses and cold winds; she stands in stillness, eyes closed, ‘holding the Lord in her mind,’ radiating tapas-heat against a frigid horizon.
FAQs
Tapas empowered by steady contemplation of the Lord gives the capacity to endure trials and transform one’s destiny.
A northern sacred region (Uttara Kuru) is referenced as a setting, but the verse is not a direct tirtha-mahātmya praise.
Intense tapas and mental fixation on the Lord are indicated, without a detailed procedural rite.