Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

षष्ठान्नकालभोजी स्याद्यः प्रसुप्ते जनार्दने । राजसूयाश्वमेधाभ्यां स कृत्स्नं फलमाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭhānnakālabhojī syādyaḥ prasupte janārdane | rājasūyāśvamedhābhyāṃ sa kṛtsnaṃ phalamāpnuyāt

Translation

When Janārdana (Viṣṇu) abides in yogic sleep, whoever keeps the discipline of taking food only at the sixth part of the day (a regulated midday meal) attains the full merit comparable to both the Rājasūya and the Aśvamedha sacrifices.

Word by Word

• ṣaṣṭha-anna-kāla-bhojī: one who eats at the sixth meal-time (i.e., very restricted eater)
• ṣaṣṭha-anna-kāla-bhojī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣṭha + anna + kāla + bhojin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘षष्ठान्नकालभोजिन्’ = षष्ठे अन्नकाले भोजी (m., nom., sg.)

• syāt: should be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (opt., 3rd sg.)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (m., nom., sg.)

• prasupte: when (he) is asleep
• prasupte: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-supta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (m., loc., sg.)

• janārdane: in/with regard to Janārdana
• janārdane: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janārdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (m., loc., sg.)

• rājasūya-aśvamedhābhyām: by (the merits of) the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha (sacrifices)
• rājasūya-aśvamedhābhyām: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājasūya + aśvamedha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (m., instr., dual)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (m., nom., sg.)

• kṛtsnam: entire/complete
• kṛtsnam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtsna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (n., acc., sg.)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (n., acc., sg.)

• āpnuyāt: should obtain
• āpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (opt., 3rd sg.)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from Māhātmya-style narration in Nāgarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu reclines on Śeṣa in yogic sleep; below, a devotee takes a single regulated midday meal and offers worship, while symbolic emblems of Rājasūya and Aśvamedha appear as subdued ritual motifs, indicating equivalence of merit.

Characters & Entities

• Janārdana
• Viṣṇu
• Rājasūya
• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disciplined self-restraint during sacred months is praised as yielding immense merit, even comparable to royal Vedic sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse emphasizes Cāturmāsya observance within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; no single named tīrtha is specified in the verse itself.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A dietary vrata: taking food only at a regulated time (ṣaṣṭha-kāla), during the period when Viṣṇu is described as in yogic sleep.