Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 103
तत्र तेपे तपः साध्वी निराहाराऽश्वरूपिणी । एतस्मिन्नंतरे देवि तस्याश्छाया विवस्वतः
tatra tepe tapaḥ sādhvī nirāhārā'śvarūpiṇī | etasminnaṃtare devi tasyāśchāyā vivasvataḥ
तेथे ती साध्वी वडवा-रूप धारण करून निराहार तप करू लागली. याच दरम्यान, हे देवी, तिची छाया विवस्वान् (सूर्य) जवळ राहिली.
Īśvara (Śiva) as narrator
Scene: In a remote northern realm, Saṃjñā in mare-form stands in austere stillness, emaciated yet radiant, practicing foodless tapas; simultaneously, a shadowy feminine figure (Chāyā) remains beside Sūrya in a sunlit palace, maintaining household presence.
FAQs
Tapas (austerity) is presented as a transformative spiritual force, even amid complex worldly duties.
The māhātmya’s sacred frame is Prabhāsa-kṣetra, but this verse locates the episode in the cosmic north near Uttara Kuru rather than a named earthly tīrtha.
Fasting (nirāhāra) as part of tapas is described, though not as a general public injunction.