Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4
पञ्चाग्निसाधको ग्रीष्मे हेमन्ते सलिलाशयः । वर्षास्वाकाशवासी च सहस्रं च ततोऽभवत्
pañcāgnisādhako grīṣme hemante salilāśayaḥ | varṣāsvākāśavāsī ca sahasraṃ ca tato'bhavat
ग्रीष्म में वे पञ्चाग्नि-साधना करते, हेमन्त में जल में स्थित रहते, और वर्षा ऋतु में खुले आकाश के नीचे निवास करते थे—इस प्रकार वे और एक हजार वर्षों तक रहे।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)
Tirtha: Arbuda-parvata (tapas-sthāna of seasonal austerities)
Type: peak
Listener: Ṛṣis (Naimiṣāraṇya assembly implied)
Scene: Three seasonal vignettes around the same meditating sage: summer—four fires around him with the sun overhead (pañcāgni); winter—sage immersed in a cold pool; monsoon—sage seated on bare rock under storm clouds, exposed to rain and wind, unwavering.
FAQs
True tapas is constancy across conditions—heat, cold, and rain—showing single-minded devotion and endurance.
The Arbuda āśrama landscape is implied as the stage of these austerities, enhancing its tīrtha-māhātmya.
Seasonal austerities: pañcāgni in summer, water-abiding in winter, and unsheltered sky-dwelling in the rains.