Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8
आसीन्महेन्द्रनामा च दानवो रौद्ररूपधृक् । कोटिवर्षाणि तेनैव तपस्तप्तं पुरा प्रिये
āsīnmahendranāmā ca dānavo raudrarūpadhṛk | koṭivarṣāṇi tenaiva tapastaptaṃ purā priye
قدیم زمانے میں، اے محبوبہ، مہندر نام کا ایک دانَو تھا جو نہایت ہیبت ناک صورت رکھتا تھا۔ اے پیاری، اس نے کروڑوں برس تک سخت تپسیا کی۔
Śiva
Tirtha: Tāla (origin narrative begins with Mahendra’s tapas)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A terrifying dānava Mahendra, with rudra-like ferocity, performs extreme austerities for millions of years—standing amid fire, wind, and sun—while sages and devas watch in alarm; the landscape hints at a coastal/rocky sacred region that will later become a tīrtha.
FAQs
Austerity generates immense power, but without dharmic orientation it can fuel conflict rather than liberation.
The narrative is part of Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s Tala-svāmin/Taptodaka-svāmin origin account.
Tapas (austerity) is described as the motivating force; no specific vrata or rite is prescribed here.