Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12
ग्रीष्मे पञ्चाग्निसंतप्तो वर्षासु स्थण्डिलेशयः । हेमन्ते जलमध्यस्थो वायुभक्षः शतं समाः
grīṣme pañcāgnisaṃtapto varṣāsu sthaṇḍileśayaḥ | hemante jalamadhyastho vāyubhakṣaḥ śataṃ samāḥ
கோடையில் ஐந்து அக்கினிகளின் வெப்பத்தைத் தாங்கினான்; மழைக்காலத்தில் வெறும் தரையில் படுத்தான்; குளிர்காலத்தில் நீரின் நடுவே நின்றான். காற்றையே உணவாகக் கொண்டு நூறு ஆண்டுகள் இத்தவத்தை மேற்கொண்டான்।
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) taṭa
Type: river
Listener: Mahārāja (king)
Scene: Triptych of seasons around one ascetic: summer—five fires blazing; monsoon—ascetic on bare ground under rain; winter—ascetic standing in water; a subtle count of ‘hundred years’ suggested by a cycle wheel or repeated moons.
FAQs
Steadfast austerity, maintained through all seasons, is praised as a purifying force that ripens spiritual merit.
The setting continues on the Narmadā/Revā bank, a hallmark of the Revā Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha culture.
Pañcāgni-tapas, sleeping on bare ground, water-standing in winter, and vāyu-bhakṣaṇa (air-subsistence) are described as ascetic observances.
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