Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 67
ब्रह्मोवाच । क्रूरभावं परित्यज्य यदीच्छसि तपः सुत । अनया चित्तबुद्ध्या तत्त्वयाप्तं जन्मनः फलम्
brahmovāca | krūrabhāvaṃ parityajya yadīcchasi tapaḥ suta | anayā cittabuddhyā tattvayāptaṃ janmanaḥ phalam
ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: ਹੇ ਪੁੱਤਰ, ਜੇ ਤੂੰ ਤਪ ਚਾਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈਂ ਤਾਂ ਕ੍ਰੂਰ ਭਾਵ ਤਿਆਗ ਦੇ। ਇਸ ਸੱਚੀ ਚਿੱਤ-ਬੁੱਧੀ ਨਾਲ ਤੇਰੇ ਜਨਮ ਦਾ ਫਲ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ।
Brahmā
Listener: Vajrāṅga
Scene: Brahmā raises a gentle admonishing hand, instructing the aspirant to renounce cruelty; the disciple listens with softened expression, suggesting inner turning.
FAQs
Tapas is not merely physical endurance; it requires moral transformation—renouncing cruelty and cultivating truth-aligned intention.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse highlights inner purity as the sacred ground for tapas.
The prerequisite is ethical: give up krūrabhāva (cruelty) as the qualifying discipline for any effective austerity.