Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2
बाल एव तु यत्रार्कस्तपस्तेपे पुरा प्रिये । तेन बालार्क इत्येतन्नाम ख्यातं धरातले
bāla eva tu yatrārkastapastepe purā priye | tena bālārka ityetannāma khyātaṃ dharātale
Wahai kekasih, di tempat itu dahulu kala Dewa Surya ketika masih kanak-kanak telah melakukan tapa (pertapaan); maka sebab itu tempat tersebut masyhur di bumi dengan nama “Bālārka” (Matahari Kanak-kanak).
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Bālārka
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Mythic tableau: a youthful Sun (child form) seated in meditation, radiating gentle yet potent light over a small tīrtha pool; sages and nature respond—lotuses open, birds circle—signifying tapas transforming the landscape.
FAQs
Tapas (austerity) is honored as a source of sanctity; even the gods model discipline to bless a place.
Bālārka, the Sun’s tīrtha named from the legend of the child-Sun’s austerities.
No explicit rite; the verse explains the origin of the tīrtha’s name through the Sun’s tapas.