Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 44
तपस्तेपे महाभाग विधिना सह भारत । न शक्यं केनचित्कर्त्तुमात्मनात्मैव तुष्टवान्
tapastepe mahābhāga vidhinā saha bhārata | na śakyaṃ kenacitkarttumātmanātmaiva tuṣṭavān
اے سعادت مند بھارت! اس نے وِدھاتا (برہما) کے ساتھ شاستری ودھی کے مطابق تپسیا کی۔ یہ کسی اور سے ممکن نہیں؛ اپنے ہی آتما کے ذریعے وہ خود ہی سیر و شادمان ہوا۔
Narrator addressing ‘Bhārata’ (epic-style addressee within Purāṇic narration)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya-tīrtha (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Bhārata
Scene: Viṣṇu in deep tapas, with Brahmā (Vidhātr̥) nearby in reverent austerity; the atmosphere is still, luminous, and inward—suggesting self-fulfillment.
FAQs
The Supreme is not compelled by external force; divine fulfillment is intrinsic, and tapas is undertaken for loka-saṅgraha (the welfare of the worlds).
Implicitly Dharmāraṇya, since the tapas described continues the Dharmāraṇya episode tied to tīrtha-prādurbhāva.
Tapas is emphasized; the verse frames austerity as a sacred discipline associated with divine purpose.