Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7
पंचाग्निसाधको ग्रीष्मे वर्षास्वाकाशगस्तथा । हेमंते जलमध्यस्थो नव वर्षाणि पंच च
paṃcāgnisādhako grīṣme varṣāsvākāśagastathā | hemaṃte jalamadhyastho nava varṣāṇi paṃca ca
ग्रीष्मे पञ्चाग्निसाधनं कृत्वा, वर्षासु गगनतले निरावरणोऽवस्थितः। हेमन्ते च जलमध्ये निमग्नः स्थित्वा, पञ्च च नव वर्षाणि सम्यक् तपश्चरितवान्॥
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A lone ascetic performing seasonal tapas: in summer seated amid four fires with the sun overhead; in monsoon standing under open sky in rain; in winter waist-deep in cold water, unwavering in japa.
FAQs
Steadfast tapas across changing conditions is praised as the force that purifies the devotee and draws divine grace to a sacred place.
Prabhāsakṣetra, where these austerities are undertaken as part of the site’s sanctifying narrative.
Pañcāgni tapas (five-fire austerity), exposure to the open sky in rains, and water-immersion in winter—classic ascetic disciplines.