Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

ग्रीष्मे पञ्चाग्निसंतप्तो वर्षासु स्थण्डिलेशयः । हेमन्ते जलमध्यस्थो वायुभक्षः शतं समाः

Transliteration

grīṣme pañcāgnisaṃtapto varṣāsu sthaṇḍileśayaḥ | hemante jalamadhyastho vāyubhakṣaḥ śataṃ samāḥ

Translation

En été, il endura l’ardeur des cinq feux; durant la saison des pluies, il reposait sur la terre nue; en hiver, il demeurait au milieu des eaux. Ne se nourrissant que d’air, il maintint ces observances durant cent ans.

Word by Word

• ग्रीष्मे: in summer
• ग्रीष्मे: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• पञ्चाग्निसंतप्तः: heated by five fires (performing pañcāgni-tapas)
• पञ्चाग्निसंतप्तः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + अग्नि + संतप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; सम्√तप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पञ्चभिः अग्निभिः संतप्तः)

• वर्षासु: in the rainy season(s)
• वर्षासु: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• स्थण्डिले-शयः: one who lies on bare ground
• स्थण्डिले-शयः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थण्डिल + शय (प्रातिपदिक; √शी ‘to lie’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (स्थण्डिले शयः/शेते इति)

• हेमन्ते: in winter
• हेमन्ते: Adhikarana (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जलमध्यस्थः: standing in the middle of water
• जलमध्यस्थः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल + मध्य + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; √स्था ‘to stand’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (जलस्य मध्ये स्थः)

• वायुभक्षः: air-eating; living on air
• वायुभक्षः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वायु + भक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; √भक्ष् ‘to eat’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (वायुः भक्ष्यः यस्य/वायुं भक्षयति इति)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Kala-adhikarana (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• समाः: years
• समाः: Kala-adhikarana (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक; ‘year’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) taṭa

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych of seasons around one ascetic: summer—five fires blazing; monsoon—ascetic on bare ground under rain; winter—ascetic standing in water; a subtle count of ‘hundred years’ suggested by a cycle wheel or repeated moons.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍa
• pañcāgni-tapas
• Narmadā context (implicit from prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast austerity, maintained through all seasons, is praised as a purifying force that ripens spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting continues on the Narmadā/Revā bank, a hallmark of the Revā Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha culture.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcāgni-tapas, sleeping on bare ground, water-standing in winter, and vāyu-bhakṣaṇa (air-subsistence) are described as ascetic observances.