Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

एकाहारा निराहारा वायुभक्षास्तथा परे । अन्ये मासोपवासाश्च चान्द्रायणपरायणाः

Transliteration

ekāhārā nirāhārā vāyubhakṣāstathā pare | anye māsopavāsāśca cāndrāyaṇaparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

كان منهم من يقتات بوجبة واحدة في اليوم، ومنهم من لا يأكل شيئًا أبدًا، ومنهم من يتغذّى بالهواء وحده. وآخرون صاموا شهرًا كاملًا، مخلصين لرياضة «تشاندرايانا» (Cāndrāyaṇa).

Word by Word

• eka-āhārāḥ: having one meal (a day)
• eka-āhārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (एकः आहारः येषाम्/one-meal)

• nir-āhārāḥ: fasting (without food)
• nir-āhārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir (उपसर्ग) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; उपसर्ग-निषेध (without food/fasting)

• vāyu-bhakṣāḥ: living on air
• vāyu-bhakṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (वायुः भक्ष्यः येषाम् = living on air)

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (रीति-वाचक/Adverb)

• pare: others
• pare: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; (others)

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; (others)

• māsa-upavāsāḥ: month-long fasts
• māsa-upavāsāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक) + upavāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (मासस्य उपवासः = month-long fasts)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/Conjunction)

• cāndrāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ: devoted to the Cāndrāyaṇa observance
• cāndrāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cāndrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (चान्द्रायण-व्रते परायणाः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing a king: likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Different groups of ascetics: one taking a single meal, another fasting, another depicted as vāyu-bhakṣa (symbolic—breath-focused), and a group marking lunar phases for Cāndrāyaṇa; moon above the mountain grove.

Characters & Entities

• vratins
• Cāndrāyaṇa (vrata)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Self-restraint through regulated food and fasting is presented as a classic Purāṇic path for purifying karma and steadying devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda sacred landscape (Arbuda-khaṇḍa) within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ekāhāra, nirāhāra, māsopavāsa, and especially the Cāndrāyaṇa vow.