śrī-śukaḥ uvāca - Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; ekadā - once upon a time; giriśam - Lord Śiva; draṣṭum - to see; ṛṣayaḥ - very saintly persons; tatra - in that forest; su-vratāḥ - highly elevated in spiritual power; diśaḥ - all directions; vitimira-ābhāsāḥ - having been cleared of all darkness whatsoever; kurvantaḥ - doing so; samupāgaman - arrived.

Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: Great saintly persons who strictly observed the spiritual rules and regulations and whose own effulgence dissipated all the darkness of all directions once came to see Lord Śiva in that forest.