Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12
यस्तु मासोपवासं च वसिष्ठाग्रे करोति च । सोऽपि मुक्तिमवाप्नोति न याति स भवार्णवम्
yastu māsopavāsaṃ ca vasiṣṭhāgre karoti ca | so'pi muktimavāpnoti na yāti sa bhavārṇavam
ومن أقام صومَ شهرٍ أمام الريشي فاسيشثا نال كذلك الموكشا (التحرر)؛ ولا يسقط في محيط السمسارا (saṃsāra) أي دوّامة التكوّن الدنيوي.
Sūta (deduced, Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Vasiṣṭha-tīrtha (Arbuda)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A month-long vow depicted as a calendar-like cycle: the devotee remains steadfast before Vasiṣṭha through sunrises and moon phases; the ocean of saṃsāra shown as dark waves behind, while a clear, luminous path opens toward a serene, formless light (mokṣa).
FAQs
Intense austerity anchored in a holy place and directed toward a revered spiritual presence is framed as a direct means toward liberation.
Vasiṣṭha’s āśrama—specifically, the sacred space ‘before Vasiṣṭha’ where the vow is undertaken.
Māsa-upavāsa: observing a month-long fast in Vasiṣṭha’s presence.