Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20
समीराभ्यवहर्तासीद्बहुदिष्टं सदिष्टवान् । पपौ स तु पिपासुः सन्कुशाग्रजलविप्रुषः
samīrābhyavahartāsīdbahudiṣṭaṃ sadiṣṭavān | papau sa tu pipāsuḥ sankuśāgrajalavipruṣaḥ
Il vivait tel celui qui « se nourrit du vent », ne subsistant que de ce qui lui était à peine accordé. Et, brûlé par la soif, il ne buvait que des gouttes d’eau accrochées aux pointes de l’herbe kuśa.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (context of Yama’s extreme saṃyama)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Viśālākṣī
Scene: An emaciated yet radiant ascetic Yama sits or stands calmly; swirling air suggests ‘wind-subsistence’. Nearby, kuśa grass bends with tiny water droplets, which he touches to his lips with restraint.
FAQs
Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) and radical restraint purify intention and intensify spiritual aspiration.
The chapter’s setting remains the Kāśī sacred field (Ānandavana/Dharmapīṭha context), though this verse focuses on tapas methods.
Ascetic subsistence practices are described: samīrāhāra (air-subsistence) and drinking only kuśa-tip droplets.