Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 67
ब्रह्मोवाच । क्रूरभावं परित्यज्य यदीच्छसि तपः सुत । अनया चित्तबुद्ध्या तत्त्वयाप्तं जन्मनः फलम्
brahmovāca | krūrabhāvaṃ parityajya yadīcchasi tapaḥ suta | anayā cittabuddhyā tattvayāptaṃ janmanaḥ phalam
Phạm Thiên nói: Nếu con muốn tu tapas, hỡi con, hãy từ bỏ tâm tính hung bạo. Với tâm và trí sáng trong như vậy, quả phúc của đời sinh ra sẽ được thành tựu.
Brahmā
Listener: Vajrāṅga
Scene: Brahmā raises a gentle admonishing hand, instructing the aspirant to renounce cruelty; the disciple listens with softened expression, suggesting inner turning.
FAQs
Tapas is not merely physical endurance; it requires moral transformation—renouncing cruelty and cultivating truth-aligned intention.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse highlights inner purity as the sacred ground for tapas.
The prerequisite is ethical: give up krūrabhāva (cruelty) as the qualifying discipline for any effective austerity.