Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 73
सूत उवाच । तस्यास्तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा भगवाञ्छशिशेखरः । अब्रवीद्राजपुत्रीं तां मेघगंभीरया गिरा । वत्से मद्वचनादद्य तपस्त्वं त्यक्तुमर्हसि
sūta uvāca | tasyāstadvacanaṃ śrutvā bhagavāñchaśiśekharaḥ | abravīdrājaputrīṃ tāṃ meghagaṃbhīrayā girā | vatse madvacanādadya tapastvaṃ tyaktumarhasi
สูตกล่าวว่า: ครั้นได้สดับถ้อยคำของนางแล้ว พระผู้เป็นเจ้า ศศิเศขระ ตรัสแก่พระธิดากษัตริย์นั้นด้วยสุรเสียงก้องลึกดุจเมฆครึ้มว่า “ลูกเอ๋ย ด้วยบัญชาของเราในวันนี้ จงยุติการบำเพ็ญตบะเถิด”
Sūta (narrator); Śiva (Śaśiśekhara) is the quoted speaker
Type: kund
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame)
Scene: Śiva, crescent-mooned, speaks with thunderous gentleness to a princess; the air feels like monsoon clouds—powerful yet soothing—signaling the completion of her austerity.
FAQs
Austerity bears fruit when aligned with divine grace; the Lord himself may release a devotee from prolonged tapas.
The verse sets the scene for a local tīrtha narrative in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya (the specific pond/tīrtha is named in the following verses).
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it indicates the completion/cessation of tapas by Śiva’s command.