Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

अहं चैव करिष्यामि प्राणायामशतत्रयम् । नित्यमेव द्विजश्रेष्ठाः षष्ठकालकृताशनः

Transliteration

ahaṃ caiva kariṣyāmi prāṇāyāmaśatatrayam | nityameva dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ ṣaṣṭhakālakṛtāśanaḥ

Translation

وأنا نفسي سأؤدّي ثلاثمئةٍ من تمارين البراناياما (prāṇāyāma). يا خيرَ ذوي الولادتين، سأفعل ذلك كلَّ يوم، ولا آكل إلا في الزمن السادس (أكلٌ منضبطٌ محدود).

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, उत्तमपुरुष-सूचक; एकवचन; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• करिष्यामि: I will do
• करिष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्राणायामशतत्रयम्: three hundred (sets) of prāṇāyāma
• प्राणायामशतत्रयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणायाम (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म) एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्देश-समास (शतस्य त्रयम्)

• नित्यम्: daily/always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (adverbial accusative)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative sense/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (श्रेष्ठाः द्विजाः)

• षष्ठकालकृताशनः: one who has taken food at the sixth time (i.e., eating only at the sixth period)
• षष्ठकालकृताशनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृ-धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय) + अशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठे काले कृतम् अशनम् यस्य) — ‘षष्ठकालकृताशन’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Unspecified (the same authority figure speaking in first person)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmasthāna (Nāgara-kṣetra context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ / dvijottamāḥ (assembled brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vow-taking ascetic/householder stands before assembled brāhmaṇas at a sacred precinct, seated near a tīrtha platform; he performs prāṇāyāma with controlled posture, while a simple single-meal offering is shown at the prescribed time.

Characters & Entities

• Prāṇāyāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True purification is not only external; it is sustained by daily tapas—breath-discipline and restraint in food.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This is a discipline instruction within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa tīrtha context; the verse itself does not name a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Three hundred prāṇāyāmas, performed daily, along with regulated eating at a fixed time.