Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

पंचाग्निसाधको ग्रीष्मे वर्षास्वाकाशसंस्थितः । जलाश्रयश्च हेमंते स ध्यायति महेश्वरम्

Transliteration

paṃcāgnisādhako grīṣme varṣāsvākāśasaṃsthitaḥ | jalāśrayaśca hemaṃte sa dhyāyati maheśvaram

Translation

Practising the austerity of the five fires in summer, remaining exposed beneath the open sky during the rains, and staying in water in the winter, he meditated upon Maheśvara (Śiva).

Word by Word

• पञ्चाग्निसाधकः: a practitioner of the five-fire austerity
• पञ्चाग्निसाधकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + साधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता (one who practices with five fires)

• ग्रीष्मे: in summer
• ग्रीष्मे: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण (in summer)

• वर्षासु: in the rains
• वर्षासु: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; कालाधिकरण (in the rainy season[s])

• आकाशसंस्थितः: staying in the open/sky
• आकाशसंस्थितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थित (कृदन्त; स्था-धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (situated in the sky/open)

• जलाश्रयः: resorting to water
• जलाश्रयः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (one who takes refuge in water)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunctive/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• हेमन्ते: in winter
• हेमन्ते: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण (in winter)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्ता

• ध्यायति: meditates on
• ध्यायति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महेश्वरम्: Mahēśvara (Śiva)
• महेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; महा + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of ध्यायति)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; contextually within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Camatkārapura (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych-like depiction of the same ascetic across seasons: in summer seated amid four fires with the sun overhead; in monsoon standing under open sky as rain pours; in winter immersed in water, eyes closed in meditation on Śiva.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast devotion to Śiva, supported by disciplined tapas across all conditions, is praised as a direct path to divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within a Tīrthamāhātmya frame, but this single shloka does not name a specific tīrtha; it emphasizes the ascetic’s practice within the sacred-geography narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Seasonal austerities: pañcāgni in summer, open-sky exposure in rains, and water-abiding in winter—combined with meditation on Śiva.