Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 62
एवमुक्त्वा ततः सोऽपि तपश्चक्रे महामुनिः । एकांतरोपवासस्तु स्थितो वर्षशतं मुनिः । षष्ठान्नकालभोजी च तावत्काले ततोऽभवत्
evamuktvā tataḥ so'pi tapaścakre mahāmuniḥ | ekāṃtaropavāsastu sthito varṣaśataṃ muniḥ | ṣaṣṭhānnakālabhojī ca tāvatkāle tato'bhavat
Nachdem er so gesprochen hatte, nahm der große Weise die Askese auf sich. Hundert Jahre lang verharrte der Muni im Fasten an jedem zweiten Tag; danach lebte er für die gleiche Zeitspanne, indem er nur im Abstand der sechsten Mahlzeit aß (nach langen, geregelten Zwischenzeiten).
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; speaker not explicit in verse)
Type: kshetra
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.
FAQs
Long, regulated austerity—performed with steadiness—prepares the seeker for sacred revelation.
The austerity is undertaken to reveal Hāṭakeśvara, the tīrtha-deity central to this chapter’s māhātmya.
Ekāntaropavāsa (alternate-day fasting) and a strict regulated eating schedule (ṣaṣṭhānnakālabhojī) are described.