Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 63
त्रिरात्रभोजी पश्चाच्च स बभूव मुनीश्वरः । तावत्कालं फलैर्निन्ये तावत्कालं जलाशनः । वायुभक्षस्ततो भूयस्तावत्कालमभून्मुनिः
trirātrabhojī paścācca sa babhūva munīśvaraḥ | tāvatkālaṃ phalairninye tāvatkālaṃ jalāśanaḥ | vāyubhakṣastato bhūyastāvatkālamabhūnmuniḥ
Später wurde dieser Herr der Munis zu einem, der nur alle drei Nächte speiste. Für die gleiche Zeit lebte er von Früchten; für die gleiche Zeit nur von Wasser; und danach wiederum, für die gleiche Zeit, lebte der Weise als einer, der sich allein „von Luft nährt“.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; speaker not explicit in verse)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A sequence tableau: the same sage shown in four panels—eating once in three nights, then holding fruits, then sipping water, then seated with controlled breath, body lean yet radiant with tapas-tejas.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma honors graded self-restraint—reducing dependence on food as a symbol of inward focus.
These austerities belong to the Hāṭakeśvara-māhātmya sequence within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa.
Eating once every three nights (trirātrabhojī), then living on fruits, then water, then air-only (vāyubhakṣa) austerity.