Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त्वा ततः सोऽपि तपश्चक्रे महामुनिः । एकांतरोपवासस्तु स्थितो वर्षशतं मुनिः । षष्ठान्नकालभोजी च तावत्काले ततोऽभवत्

Transliteration

evamuktvā tataḥ so'pi tapaścakre mahāmuniḥ | ekāṃtaropavāsastu sthito varṣaśataṃ muniḥ | ṣaṣṭhānnakālabhojī ca tāvatkāle tato'bhavat

Translation

এভাবে বলে সেই মহামুনি তপস্যায় প্রবৃত্ত হলেন। মুনি একদিন অন্তর উপবাস করে শতবর্ষ স্থিত রইলেন; পরে সমান কাল ধরে ষষ্ঠ-কাল অন্তরে মাত্র আহার করলেন।

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb of manner)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकाले कृत्य (having done)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/क्रमवाचक (then/thereafter)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (also/even)

• tapaḥ: austerity, penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (तपस् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• cakre: performed
• cakre: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahāmuniḥ: the great sage
• mahāmuniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (महā) + muni (मुनि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महान् मुनिः)

• ekāntara-upavāsaḥ: alternate-day fasting
• ekāntara-upavāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (एक) + antara (अन्तर) + upavāsa (उपवास प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (एकान्तरः उपवासः = alternate-day fast)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषणार्थक (but/indeed)

• sthitaḥ: remained, stayed
• sthitaḥ: Kriyā (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• varṣaśatam: a hundred years
• varṣaśatam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Duration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (वर्ष) + śata (शत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (शतं वर्षाणि)

• muniḥ: the sage
• muniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (मुनि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ṣaṣṭha-anna-kāla-bhojī: one who ate only at the sixth time
• ṣaṣṭha-anna-kāla-bhojī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of muniḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣṭha (षष्ठ) + anna (अन्न) + kāla (काल) + bhojin (भोजिन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठे अन्नकाले भोजी = eating at the sixth meal-time/once in six periods)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• tāvat-kāle: during that period
• tāvat-kāle: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/when)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāvat (तावत्) + kāla (काल प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तावत् कालः)

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक (thereafter)

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; speaker not explicit in verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solitary mahāmuni in a forested tīrtha precinct, seated in padmāsana, counting days of alternate fasting; sparse hut, kusa grass, water pot, and a calm riverbank or sacred grove implied.

Characters & Entities

• Gautama
• Hāṭakeśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Long, regulated austerity—performed with steadiness—prepares the seeker for sacred revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The austerity is undertaken to reveal Hāṭakeśvara, the tīrtha-deity central to this chapter’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ekāntaropavāsa (alternate-day fasting) and a strict regulated eating schedule (ṣaṣṭhānnakālabhojī) are described.