Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

वर्षास्वाकाशशायी च हेमंते सलिलाशयः । पञ्चाग्निसाधको ग्रीष्मे स्थितो वर्षशतत्रयम्

Transliteration

varṣāsvākāśaśāyī ca hemaṃte salilāśayaḥ | pañcāgnisādhako grīṣme sthito varṣaśatatrayam

Translation

বর্ষাকালে তিনি খোলা আকাশের নীচে শয়ন করতেন, শীতকালে জলে নিমগ্ন থাকতেন, আর গ্রীষ্মে পঞ্চাগ্নি-সাধনা করতেন—এইভাবে তিনি তিনশো বছর অবিচল ছিলেন।

Word by Word

• varṣāsu: in the rainy seasons
• varṣāsu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन

• ākāśaśāyī: sleeping in the open sky
• ākāśaśāyī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + śāyin (प्रातिपदिक; √śī (धातु) + णिन्)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आकाशे शयते); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• hemaṃte: in winter
• hemaṃte: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hemanta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• salilāśayaḥ: dwelling in water
• salilāśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: salila (प्रातिपदिक) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सलिले आशयः/आशयः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• pañcāgnisādhakaḥ: practicing the five-fire austerity
• pañcāgnisādhakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक) + sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पञ्चाग्नीन् साधयति); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• grīṣme: in summer
• grīṣme: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grīṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• sthitaḥ: remaining, staying
• sthitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthita (कृदन्त; √sthā (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; past participle used predicatively

• varṣaśatatrayam: three hundred years
• varṣaśatatrayam: Kāla-adhvana (Duration/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (वर्षशतानां त्रयम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; duration-accusative

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himavat tapas-bhūmi (generic)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych-like depiction of the same ascetic across seasons: monsoon—lying under open sky; winter—immersed in icy water; summer—seated amid four fires with the sun as the fifth, unwavering for centuries.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra
• Pañcāgni-tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast endurance across hardship is portrayed as a purifier that concentrates the mind toward higher realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scene is set in the Himavat region; the larger narrative belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya cycle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcāgni-tapas (the five-fire discipline) is referenced as an austerity practice.