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

En été, il pratiqua l’austérité des cinq feux ; durant les pluies, il demeura exposé sous le ciel ouvert ; en hiver, il se tint dans l’eau ; ainsi méditait-il 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.