Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10
तस्यैवं तप्यमानस्य तपस्तीव्रं महात्मनः । माहिषं रूपमास्थाय निश्चक्राम धरातलात्
tasyaivaṃ tapyamānasya tapastīvraṃ mahātmanaḥ | māhiṣaṃ rūpamāsthāya niścakrāma dharātalāt
جب وہ عظیم النفس اس طرح سخت تپسیا میں مشغول تھا تو اُس کی تپسیا نہایت شدید ہو گئی۔ تب (پروردگار) بھینسے کی صورت اختیار کر کے زمین کی سطح سے نمودار ہوا۔
Sūta
Tirtha: Gaṅgādvāra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: From the ground near the riverbank, a powerful buffalo-form bursts forth—dust and light rising—while Indra continues austerity, devas startled in awe; the moment signals Śiva’s arrival in disguise.
FAQs
Sincere austerity performed at a sacred place draws divine response; the Lord may manifest in unexpected forms to protect dharma.
The manifestation occurs in the same tīrtha-context established at Gaṅgādvāra, reinforcing the site’s power to invoke divine presence.
Tapas is the operative practice; the verse illustrates its ‘phala’ (result) rather than prescribing a specific rite.