ततो बटुकरूपेण संप्राप्तो गालवो मया । संसारस्य विरक्तोऽहं करिष्यामि मह्त्तपः
tato baṭukarūpeṇa saṃprāpto gālavo mayā | saṃsārasya virakto'haṃ kariṣyāmi mahttapaḥ
Então, na forma de um baṭuka, um jovem estudante celibatário, aproximei-me de Gālava e disse: “Estou desapegado do saṃsāra; empreenderei grande austeridade (tapas).”
An unnamed narrator (speaking to Gālava) within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative
Type: kshetra
Scene: A youthful brahmacārin with shaven/tonsured head and deer-skin or simple cloth approaches sage Gālava seated by a sacred fire; the youth speaks of detachment and great austerity.
External renunciation can be feigned; Purāṇic narratives caution that true vairāgya is proven by inner purity.
The Himalayan ascetic landscape is the implied sacred setting supporting tapas and initiation.
Austerity (tapas) is declared as an intention, preparing the ground for initiation (dīkṣā) in subsequent verses.