Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
अथ ते वालखिल्याख्या मुनयः संशितव्रताः । एकां समिधमादाय साहाय्यार्थं प्रजापतेः । प्रस्थिता यज्ञवाटं तं भारार्ताः क्लेशसंयुताः
atha te vālakhilyākhyā munayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ | ekāṃ samidhamādāya sāhāyyārthaṃ prajāpateḥ | prasthitā yajñavāṭaṃ taṃ bhārārtāḥ kleśasaṃyutāḥ
Bấy giờ các hiền giả mang danh Vālakhilya—kiên định trong giới nguyện—mỗi vị cầm một thanh củi tế (samidh) để trợ giúp Prajāpati, rồi lên đường đến khu đàn tế ấy, thân mang gánh nặng, chịu nhiều nhọc nhằn.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa style narration within Māhātmya)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A line of diminutive Vālakhilya sages, each carrying a single samidh, trudges toward the yajña enclosure; their faces show strain yet unwavering resolve; dust and heat shimmer on the path.
FAQs
Even the smallest offering carried with vow-bound sincerity becomes sacred service (seva) in support of dharma.
The verse describes movement toward a yajña-vāṭa within the tīrtha-māhātmya narrative; the tīrtha name is not explicit here.
Carrying samidh (fuel for the sacred fire) for a yajña—an implied act of assisting sacrificial performance.