Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

निराहारो घोरतपास्तपोराशिरजायत । ततः सोंऽतर्जले चक्रे कालं वर्षसहस्रकम्

Transliteration

nirāhāro ghoratapāstaporāśirajāyata | tataḥ soṃ'tarjale cakre kālaṃ varṣasahasrakam

Translation

Fastend und furchtbare Askese übend, wurde er gleichsam zu einem Berg von Tapas. Dann verbrachte er tausend Jahre inmitten der Wasser.

Word by Word

• निराहारः: without food, fasting
• निराहारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नञ्/निर्-पूर्वक तत्पुरुष (आहारः न यस्य)

• घोरतपाः: performer of terrible austerity
• घोरतपाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घोर + तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (घोरं तपः यस्य)

• तपोराशिः: a heap/embodiment of austerity
• तपोराशिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् + राशि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (तपसां राशिः)

• अजायत: was born/became
• अजायत: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverb: then/thereafter)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अन्तर्जले: in the water, within water
• अन्तर्जले: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर् + जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव (अन्तः जले = within water)

• चक्रे: did, performed
• चक्रे: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• कालम्: for a period
• कालम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण/time-extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणार्थे

• वर्षसहस्रकम्: a thousand years
• वर्षसहस्रकम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण/time-extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + सहस्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वर्षाणां सहस्रकम्)

Speaker

Narrator (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: सरस् (unnamed lake)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vajrāṅga, emaciated from fasting, becomes ‘a mountain of tapas’; then he is shown submerged in a lake—only a faint outline or a bubble trail—while time passes above the water’s surface.

Characters & Entities

• Vajrāṅga
• Waters (Jala)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse celebrates tapas as transformative power—fasting and sustained restraint accumulate into formidable spiritual potency.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No explicit tīrtha is named; “within the waters” indicates a mode of penance rather than a particular sacred river or lake.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Fasting (nirāhāra) and water-austerity (antarjala-vāsa) are described as the ascetic regimen.