Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अव्यक्ताः परमत्रासाद्ध्यायंतस्ते च संस्थिताः । पंचाग्निसाधकाः केचित्तत्र व्रतपरायणाः

Transliteration

avyaktāḥ paramatrāsāddhyāyaṃtaste ca saṃsthitāḥ | paṃcāgnisādhakāḥ kecittatra vrataparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

Unsichtbar und vom gewöhnlichen Leben zurückgezogen — aus tiefster ehrfürchtiger Scheu — standen sie dort, in Meditation (Dhyāna) versunken. Einige unter ihnen waren gelübdegebundene Asketen, die die Übung der fünf Feuer (pañcāgni) vollzogen, standhaft in ihren heiligen Observanzen.

Word by Word

• avyaktāḥ: unmanifest/indistinct
• avyaktāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्ग-निषेध (unmanifest/indistinct)

• parama-trāsāt: from great fear
• parama-trāsāt: Apadana (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + trāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (परमः त्रासः)

• dhyāyantaḥ: meditating
• dhyāyantaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/Conjunction)

• saṃsthitāḥ: stood/remained
• saṃsthitāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√sthā (धातु) + ta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे विधेय

• paṃca-agni-sādhakāḥ: practitioners of the five-fire austerity
• paṃca-agni-sādhakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक) + sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (पञ्चाग्नीन् साधयन्ति)

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (some)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक)

• vrata-parāyaṇāḥ: fully devoted to vows
• vrata-parāyaṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (व्रते परायणाः = wholly devoted to vows)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing a king: likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (tapas-bhūmi)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hidden ascetics standing or seated in deep meditation, some surrounded by the symbolic five fires (four around, sun above), heat shimmer, ash markings, matted hair; the forested mountain feels numinous and awe-inspiring.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• vratins (vow-keepers)
• pañcāgni-sādhakas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Awe before the Divine matures into steadiness: disciplined vows and meditation make the mind fit for higher vision.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda sacred region within the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa (Arbuda-khaṇḍa context).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcāgni-tapas (the five-fire austerity) and steadfast observance of vrata.