Shloka 6
भद्रवटगमनम् — स्कन्देन महिषदानवनिग्रहः
Bhadravaṭa Procession and Skanda’s Neutralization of Mahiṣa
दशवर्षसहस््राणि तपस्तप्त्वा महातपा: । जनयत् पावकं घोरं पितृणां स प्रजा: सृजन्
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi tapastaptvā mahātapāḥ | janayat pāvakaṃ ghoraṃ pitṝṇāṃ sa prajāḥ sṛjan |
मार्कण्डेय उवाच—दशवर्षसहस्राणि घोरं तपस्तप्त्वा स महातपाः। पितॄणां वंशसंरक्षणार्थं घोरं पावकं जनयामास, ततः प्रजाः स्रष्टुं प्रववृते।
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights pitṛ-dharma: sustaining one’s ancestral line and obligations through disciplined tapas and properly established ritual fire, showing that personal austerity is directed toward responsibility, not mere self-display.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates how a great ascetic undertakes a long period of severe austerity, then kindles a powerful sacrificial fire and proceeds to generate progeny for the sake of continuing his forefathers’ lineage.