Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61
पृथक्सांतपनद्रव्यैः षडहः सोपवासकः । सप्ताहेन तु कृच्छ्रोयं महासांतपनः स्मृतः
pṛthaksāṃtapanadravyaiḥ ṣaḍahaḥ sopavāsakaḥ | saptāhena tu kṛcchroyaṃ mahāsāṃtapanaḥ smṛtaḥ
When the Sāṃtapana substances are taken separately over six days, with fasting included, then this kṛcchra, completed in a week, is called the Mahā-sāṃtapana.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A week-long austerity depicted as a sequence of six ritual days with distinct offerings/ingestions, culminating in a composed completion day; the Gaṅgā and ghats frame the discipline.
FAQs
Greater purification is sought through more structured, time-bound austerity, emphasizing perseverance and self-restraint.
Kāśī is the overarching sacred landscape where such dharmic disciplines are taught for inner and outer purification.
Mahā-sāṃtapana: Sāṃtapana substances taken separately across six days, with fasting, completing the observance over a week.