Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अश्मकुट्टाः स्थिताः केचिद्दंतोलूखलिनः परे । शीर्णपर्णाशनाः केचिज्जलाहारास्तथा परे । वायुभक्षास्तथैवान्ये तपस्तेपुः सुदारुणम्

Transliteration

aśmakuṭṭāḥ sthitāḥ keciddaṃtolūkhalinaḥ pare | śīrṇaparṇāśanāḥ kecijjalāhārāstathā pare | vāyubhakṣāstathaivānye tapastepuḥ sudāruṇam

Translation

ಕೆಲವರು ಕಲ್ಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಕುಟ್ಟಿ ಕುಟ್ಟಿ ತಪಸ್ಸು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು; ಇನ್ನೂ ಕೆಲವರು ದಂತಗಳನ್ನೇ ಉಲುಖಲದಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಕೆಲವರು ಬಿದ್ದ ಒಣ ಎಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಆಹಾರಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡರು; ಕೆಲವರು ಜಲಾಹಾರಿಗಳು; ಮತ್ತಿತರರು ವಾಯುಭಕ್ಷರಾಗಿ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಕಠೋರ ತಪಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸಿದರು।

Word by Word

• aśmakuṭṭāḥ: stone-pounders (austerity practitioners)
• aśmakuṭṭāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśma-kuṭṭa (प्रातिपदिक; अश्मन् + कुट्ट)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तपस्वि-विशेषवृत्तिः (those who pound stones)

• sthitāḥ: stood/remained
• sthitāḥ: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम; किम्+चित्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (some)

• dantolūkhalinaḥ: those with ‘tooth-mortar’ (austerity practitioners)
• dantolūkhalinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: danta-ulūkhala-in (प्रातिपदिक; दन्त + उलूखल + इन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘having teeth as a mortar’ (austerity type)

• pare: others
• pare: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘others’

• śīrṇaparṇāśanāḥ: eaters of withered leaves
• śīrṇaparṇāśanāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śīrṇa-parṇa-āśana (प्रातिपदिक; शीर्ण + पर्ण + आशन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘eaters of fallen leaves’

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम; किम्+चित्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• jalāhārāḥ: water-only feeders
• jalāhārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala-āhāra (प्रातिपदिक; जल + आहार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘those whose food is water’

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/so)

• pare: others
• pare: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• vāyubhakṣāḥ: air-only feeders
• vāyubhakṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu-bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक; वायु + भक्ष)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘air-eaters’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थे (likewise)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (indeed/just)

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म

• tepuḥ: performed
• tepuḥ: Kriya (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• sudāruṇam: very severe
• sudāruṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक; सु + दारुण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tapaḥ)

Speaker

Viśvāmitra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himavān tapas-bhūmi (ugra-tapas locus)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied internal audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic panorama of multiple ascetic feats: some striking stones (aśma-kuṭṭa), some performing ‘dantolūkhalin’ (teeth-as-mortar) imagery, others eating only dry fallen leaves, others subsisting on water, and a few depicted as motionless in wind, symbolizing ‘vāyu-bhakṣa’; all under stark Himalayan cliffs.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Tapas (austerity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred landscape is upheld by tapas; renunciation and endurance are portrayed as forces that sanctify a tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Himālaya āśrama-tīrtha milieu, characterized by communities of intense ascetics.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite; the verse catalogs austerity-modes (leaf-diet, water-only, breath-only) as penance disciplines.