Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अव्यक्ताः परमत्रासाद्ध्यायंतस्ते च संस्थिताः । पंचाग्निसाधकाः केचित्तत्र व्रतपरायणाः

Transliteration

avyaktāḥ paramatrāsāddhyāyaṃtaste ca saṃsthitāḥ | paṃcāgnisādhakāḥ kecittatra vrataparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

Invisibles et retirés de la vie ordinaire —saisis d’une crainte révérencielle— ils demeurèrent là, absorbés dans la méditation. Certains, ascètes liés par les vœux, pratiquaient la discipline des cinq feux (pañcāgni), inébranlables dans leurs observances sacrées.

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.