Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 206

Devanagari script

वर्षास्वाकाशशायी च हेमंते सलिलाशयः । पञ्चाग्निसाधको ग्रीष्मे यावद्वर्षशतं नरः

Transliteration

varṣāsvākāśaśāyī ca hemaṃte salilāśayaḥ | pañcāgnisādhako grīṣme yāvadvarṣaśataṃ naraḥ

Translation

رجلٌ يضطجع مكشوفًا تحت السماء في موسم الأمطار، ويقيم في الماء شتاءً، ويمارس تَقَشُّف «النيران الخمس» صيفًا—وهكذا تمام مئة سنة.

Word by Word

• वर्षासु: in the rainy seasons
• वर्षासु: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• आकाशशायी: sleeping under the open sky
• आकाशशायी: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकाश + शायी (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: आकाशे शायी (one who lies in the open sky); पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• हेमन्ते: in winter
• हेमन्ते: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• सलिलाशयः: dwelling in water
• सलिलाशयः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सलिल + आशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: सलिले आशयः (one who stays in water); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पञ्चाग्निसाधकः: practising the five-fire penance
• पञ्चाग्निसाधकः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + अग्नि + साधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: पञ्चाग्नीन् साधयति/सेवते इति (practiser of the five-fire austerity); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ग्रीष्मे: in summer
• ग्रीष्मे: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यावत्: up to
• यावत्: Sambandha (Extent marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक-अव्यय (up to/as long as)

• वर्षशतम्: a hundred years
• वर्षशतम्: Karma (Measure/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: वर्षाणां शतम् (a hundred years); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych of seasons: monsoon—ascetic lying under open sky; winter—ascetic immersed in water; summer—ascetic seated amid five fires; a ‘100 years’ motif shown as a long garland of beads or a time-scroll.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text highlights the magnitude of severe tapas as a benchmark for spiritual merit (continued comparison in the next verse).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this line; it describes ascetic disciplines rather than a location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Seasonal austerities: open-sky sleeping in the rains, water-dwelling in winter, and pañcāgni (five-fire) practice in summer, sustained for a hundred years.