Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 122
भवत्सु च स्वर्गतेषु गयोऽपि सुमहत्तपः । तप्त्वा प्राप्य पुनः पुंस्त्वं लोकान्संपीडयिष्यति
bhavatsu ca svargateṣu gayo'pi sumahattapaḥ | taptvā prāpya punaḥ puṃstvaṃ lokānsaṃpīḍayiṣyati
Apabila kamu semua telah berangkat ke syurga, Gaya juga—setelah menjalani tapa yang amat agung—akan memperoleh kembali kelelakian, lalu menindas segala alam.
Devī (Goddess)
Tirtha: Gayatrāḍa (legend of Gaya)
Type: kshetra
Scene: After the interlocutors ascend to heaven, ‘Gaya’ performs fierce austerity—standing amid fire or in river waters, emaciated yet radiant—then regains virility symbolized by a returning golden aura; later panels show him looming over the worlds, causing ‘saṃpīḍana’ (oppression), with devas distressed.
FAQs
Power gained through tapas is morally neutral; without dharma it can become a cause of suffering, requiring divine correction.
Gaya is mentioned as a figure; the tīrtha focus is not explicit in this verse alone, but the narrative points toward a sacred corrective event tied to a pilgrimage locale.
Austerity (tapas) is referenced, but no pilgrim-ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is directly prescribed here.