Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

कृच्छ्रचांद्रायणैश्चैव क्षपयंति स्वकं वपुः । त्रुटिमात्राशनास्ते तु त्रुटिकाः साधका मताः

Transliteration

kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇaiścaiva kṣapayaṃti svakaṃ vapuḥ | truṭimātrāśanāste tu truṭikāḥ sādhakā matāḥ

Translation

Durch strenge Askesen wie die Gelübde Kṛcchra und Cāndrāyaṇa lassen sie den eigenen Leib auszehren. Jene Übenden, die nur Nahrung in einer winzigen Menge wie einer «truṭi» zu sich nehmen, gelten als «Truṭikā»-Sādhakas.

Word by Word

• kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇaiḥ: by (means of) kṛcchra and cāndrāyaṇa observances
• kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛcchra-cāṃdrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व: कृच्छ्रं च चान्द्रायणं च (austerity and cāndrāyaṇa vow)

• ca: and
• ca: Conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (एव)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (restrictive/emphatic particle)

• kṣapayanti: they waste away / diminish
• kṣapayanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣap (क्षप्)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• svakam: their own
• svakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण to 'vapuḥ'

• vapuḥ: body
• vapuḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• truṭimātrāśanāḥ: eating only a minute measure
• truṭimātrāśanāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: truṭi-mātrā-aśana (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: त्रुटिमात्रम् (a tiny measure) अशनम् (eating) येषां ते; adjectival to 'truṭikāḥ'

• te: those
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषणार्थक निपात

• truṭikāḥ: truṭikā-s (a class of ascetics)
• truṭikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: truṭikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• sādhakāḥ: practitioners
• sādhakāḥ: Predicate nominative (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• matāḥ: are considered
• matāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mata (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √man/मन् + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त used predicatively (passive): 'are considered'

Speaker

Sūta (deduced, Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics in Prabhāsa perform severe vows—counting lunar days for Cāndrāyaṇa, enduring Kṛcchra austerities, taking only a speck-like measure of food; their bodies lean, faces composed, eyes inward.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsakṣetra
• Kṛcchra
• Cāndrāyaṇa
• Truṭikā-sādhaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True sanctity in a tīrtha is upheld by disciplined restraint—especially mastery over food and bodily comfort—undertaken as dharmic vows.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented as a field where rigorous vow-keepers and sādhakas reside.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance of Kṛcchra and Cāndrāyaṇa vows and extreme dietary restriction (truṭimātra-āhāra) as a recognized ascetic discipline.