Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

एकैकग्रासमश्नीयादहानि त्रीणि पूर्ववत् । त्र्यहं चोपवसेदंत्यमतिकृच्छ्रं चरन्द्विजः

Transliteration

ekaikagrāsamaśnīyādahāni trīṇi pūrvavat | tryahaṃ copavasedaṃtyamatikṛcchraṃ carandvijaḥ

Translation

Following the earlier rule, for three days he should eat only a single mouthful each day; and at the end he should fast for three days. A twice-born who performs this is said to observe the Ati-Kṛcchra.

Word by Word

• ekaika-grāsam: one mouthful (each time)
• ekaika-grāsam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + grāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: ‘one-one mouthful’ = ‘one mouthful at a time’

• aśnīyāt: should eat
• aśnīyāt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √aś (अश्, धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘should eat’

• ahāni: days
• ahāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-बहुवचन (Accusative plural)

• trīṇi: three
• trīṇi: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम् (qualifying ahāni)

• pūrvavat: as before
• pūrvavat: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva + vat (प्रातिपदिक/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘as before’

• tryaham: for three days
• tryaham: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: traya (प्रातिपदिक) + ahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्यय (adverb): ‘for three days’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक

• upavaset: should fast
• upavaset: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa + √vas (वस्, धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘should fast’

• antyam: the last/final
• antyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying atikṛcchram)

• ati-kṛcchram: the ‘atikṛcchra’ penance
• ati-kṛcchram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः: ‘excessive kṛcchra’

• caran: practising
• caran: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √car (चर्, धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; ‘practising/performing’

• dvijaḥ: a twice-born (brahmin)
• dvijaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; ‘ब्राह्मणः’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general vrata context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dvija in simple cloth counts a single morsel in his palm before eating; subsequent panel shows him fasting, seated in meditation with an empty bowl, Gaṅgā and temple spires behind.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Greater inner purification demands proportionate austerity, carried out with order and steadiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is preserved within Kāśī Khaṇḍa, reinforcing Kāśī’s identity as a center for expiation and dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ati-Kṛcchra: one mouthful daily for three days (per earlier pattern) and a concluding three-day fast.