दशवर्षसहस्राणि चचार विपुलं तपः । तमुवाच महादेवः प्रसन्नो वृषभध्वजः
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi cacāra vipulaṃ tapaḥ | tamuvāca mahādevaḥ prasanno vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ
Trong mười nghìn năm, người ấy tu khổ hạnh rộng lớn. Bấy giờ Mahādeva—Đấng mang cờ hiệu bò—hoan hỷ và phán bảo người ấy.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in the verse)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)
Type: river
Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka-frame typical)
Scene: A lone ascetic figure (Agni’s personified form implied by later verses) performing severe tapas for millennia; Śiva appears, vṛṣabhadhvaja, serene yet majestic, granting audience.
Steadfast long-term discipline culminates in divine grace; Śiva responds when devotion matures into unwavering tapas.
The narrative remains anchored in the Revā/Narmadā sacred region, a major tīrtha-zone of the Skanda Purāṇa.
The prescribed discipline is prolonged tapas (austerity) undertaken with perseverance.