Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अश्मकुट्टाः स्थिताः केचिद्दंतोलूखलिनः परे । शीर्णपर्णाशनाः केचिज्जलाहारास्तथा परे । वायुभक्षास्तथैवान्ये तपस्तेपुः सुदारुणम्

Transliteration

aśmakuṭṭāḥ sthitāḥ keciddaṃtolūkhalinaḥ pare | śīrṇaparṇāśanāḥ kecijjalāhārāstathā pare | vāyubhakṣāstathaivānye tapastepuḥ sudāruṇam

Translation

قام بعضهم برياضاتٍ شديدةٍ بدقِّ الحجارة، وآخرون جعلوا أسنانهم كالمِهراس. فمنهم من عاش على الأوراق المتساقطة، ومنهم من اقتصر على الماء وحده، ومنهم من كأنما «يتغذّى بالهواء»—وهكذا باشروا تَبَسًا بالغ القسوة.

Word by Word

• aśmakuṭṭāḥ: stone-pounders (austerity practitioners)
• aśmakuṭṭāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśma-kuṭṭa (प्रातिपदिक; अश्मन् + कुट्ट)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तपस्वि-विशेषवृत्तिः (those who pound stones)

• sthitāḥ: stood/remained
• sthitāḥ: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम; किम्+चित्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (some)

• dantolūkhalinaḥ: those with ‘tooth-mortar’ (austerity practitioners)
• dantolūkhalinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: danta-ulūkhala-in (प्रातिपदिक; दन्त + उलूखल + इन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘having teeth as a mortar’ (austerity type)

• pare: others
• pare: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘others’

• śīrṇaparṇāśanāḥ: eaters of withered leaves
• śīrṇaparṇāśanāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śīrṇa-parṇa-āśana (प्रातिपदिक; शीर्ण + पर्ण + आशन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘eaters of fallen leaves’

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम; किम्+चित्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• jalāhārāḥ: water-only feeders
• jalāhārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala-āhāra (प्रातिपदिक; जल + आहार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘those whose food is water’

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/so)

• pare: others
• pare: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• vāyubhakṣāḥ: air-only feeders
• vāyubhakṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu-bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक; वायु + भक्ष)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘air-eaters’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थे (likewise)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (indeed/just)

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म

• tepuḥ: performed
• tepuḥ: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• sudāruṇam: very severe
• sudāruṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक; सु + दारुण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tapaḥ)

Speaker

Viśvāmitra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himavān tapas-bhūmi (ugra-tapas locus)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied internal audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic panorama of multiple ascetic feats: some striking stones (aśma-kuṭṭa), some performing ‘dantolūkhalin’ (teeth-as-mortar) imagery, others eating only dry fallen leaves, others subsisting on water, and a few depicted as motionless in wind, symbolizing ‘vāyu-bhakṣa’; all under stark Himalayan cliffs.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Tapas (austerity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred landscape is upheld by tapas; renunciation and endurance are portrayed as forces that sanctify a tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Himālaya āśrama-tīrtha milieu, characterized by communities of intense ascetics.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite; the verse catalogs austerity-modes (leaf-diet, water-only, breath-only) as penance disciplines.