Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

वर्षास्वाकाशशायी च हेमंते सलिलाशयः । पञ्चाग्निसाधको ग्रीष्मे स्थितो वर्षशतत्रयम्

Transliteration

varṣāsvākāśaśāyī ca hemaṃte salilāśayaḥ | pañcāgnisādhako grīṣme sthito varṣaśatatrayam

Translation

برسات میں وہ کھلے آسمان تلے لیٹتا؛ جاڑے میں پانی میں ڈوبا رہتا؛ گرمی میں پانچ آگوں کی سادھنا کرتا—یوں وہ تین سو برس ثابت قدم رہا۔

Word by Word

• varṣāsu: in the rainy seasons
• varṣāsu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन

• ākāśaśāyī: sleeping in the open sky
• ākāśaśāyī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + śāyin (प्रातिपदिक; √śī (धातु) + णिन्)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आकाशे शयते); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• hemaṃte: in winter
• hemaṃte: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hemanta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• salilāśayaḥ: dwelling in water
• salilāśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: salila (प्रातिपदिक) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सलिले आशयः/आशयः यस्य); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• pañcāgnisādhakaḥ: practicing the five-fire austerity
• pañcāgnisādhakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक) + sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पञ्चाग्नीन् साधयति); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• grīṣme: in summer
• grīṣme: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grīṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• sthitaḥ: remaining, staying
• sthitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthita (कृदन्त; √sthā (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; past participle used predicatively

• varṣaśatatrayam: three hundred years
• varṣaśatatrayam: Kāla-adhvana (Duration/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (वर्षशतानां त्रयम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; duration-accusative

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himavat tapas-bhūmi (generic)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych-like depiction of the same ascetic across seasons: monsoon—lying under open sky; winter—immersed in icy water; summer—seated amid four fires with the sun as the fifth, unwavering for centuries.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra
• Pañcāgni-tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast endurance across hardship is portrayed as a purifier that concentrates the mind toward higher realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scene is set in the Himavat region; the larger narrative belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya cycle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcāgni-tapas (the five-fire discipline) is referenced as an austerity practice.