Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
अथ ते वालखिल्याख्या मुनयः संशितव्रताः । एकां समिधमादाय साहाय्यार्थं प्रजापतेः । प्रस्थिता यज्ञवाटं तं भारार्ताः क्लेशसंयुताः
atha te vālakhilyākhyā munayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ | ekāṃ samidhamādāya sāhāyyārthaṃ prajāpateḥ | prasthitā yajñavāṭaṃ taṃ bhārārtāḥ kleśasaṃyutāḥ
Da machten sich die als Vālakhilyas bekannten Munis—fest in ihren Gelübden—auf: Jeder nahm ein einziges samidh, ein Opferholz für das heilige Feuer, um Prajāpati beizustehen; und sie zogen zu jenem Opferplatz, von der Last bedrückt und von Mühsal begleitet.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa style narration within Māhātmya)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A line of diminutive Vālakhilya sages, each carrying a single samidh, trudges toward the yajña enclosure; their faces show strain yet unwavering resolve; dust and heat shimmer on the path.
FAQs
Even the smallest offering carried with vow-bound sincerity becomes sacred service (seva) in support of dharma.
The verse describes movement toward a yajña-vāṭa within the tīrtha-māhātmya narrative; the tīrtha name is not explicit here.
Carrying samidh (fuel for the sacred fire) for a yajña—an implied act of assisting sacrificial performance.