Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

ग्रीष्मे पञ्चाग्निसंतप्तो वर्षासु स्थण्डिलेशयः । हेमन्ते जलमध्यस्थो वायुभक्षः शतं समाः

Transliteration

grīṣme pañcāgnisaṃtapto varṣāsu sthaṇḍileśayaḥ | hemante jalamadhyastho vāyubhakṣaḥ śataṃ samāḥ

Translation

في الصيف احتمل لهيبَ النيران الخمس؛ وفي موسم الأمطار اضطجع على الأرض العارية؛ وفي الشتاء لبث في وسط المياه. وكان يقتات بالهواء وحده، فداوم على تلك الرياضات مئةَ سنة.

Word by Word

• ग्रीष्मे: in summer
• ग्रीष्मे: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• पञ्चाग्निसंतप्तः: heated by five fires (performing pañcāgni-tapas)
• पञ्चाग्निसंतप्तः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + अग्नि + संतप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; सम्√तप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पञ्चभिः अग्निभिः संतप्तः)

• वर्षासु: in the rainy season(s)
• वर्षासु: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• स्थण्डिले-शयः: one who lies on bare ground
• स्थण्डिले-शयः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थण्डिल + शय (प्रातिपदिक; √शी ‘to lie’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (स्थण्डिले शयः/शेते इति)

• हेमन्ते: in winter
• हेमन्ते: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जलमध्यस्थः: standing in the middle of water
• जलमध्यस्थः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल + मध्य + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; √स्था ‘to stand’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (जलस्य मध्ये स्थः)

• वायुभक्षः: air-eating; living on air
• वायुभक्षः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वायु + भक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; √भक्ष् ‘to eat’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (वायुः भक्ष्यः यस्य/वायुं भक्षयति इति)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Kala-adhikarana (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• समाः: years
• समाः: Kala-adhikarana (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक; ‘year’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) taṭa

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych of seasons around one ascetic: summer—five fires blazing; monsoon—ascetic on bare ground under rain; winter—ascetic standing in water; a subtle count of ‘hundred years’ suggested by a cycle wheel or repeated moons.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa
• pañcāgni-tapas
• Narmadā context (implicit from prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast austerity, maintained through all seasons, is praised as a purifying force that ripens spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting continues on the Narmadā/Revā bank, a hallmark of the Revā Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha culture.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcāgni-tapas, sleeping on bare ground, water-standing in winter, and vāyu-bhakṣaṇa (air-subsistence) are described as ascetic observances.