Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14
अथ वर्षसहस्रे तु व्यतिक्रान्ते द्विजोत्तमाः । अन्यस्मिन्वायुभक्षस्य विश्वामित्रस्य भूपतेः
atha varṣasahasre tu vyatikrānte dvijottamāḥ | anyasminvāyubhakṣasya viśvāmitrasya bhūpateḥ
Alors, ô le meilleur des deux fois nés, lorsqu’un millier d’années se fut écoulé—en un autre temps—au sujet du roi Viśvāmitra, qui ne se nourrissait que d’air…
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A time-lapse feel: seasons passing around an unmoving ascetic; leaves fall, rains come, sun blazes—yet Viśvāmitra remains steadfast, sustained only by air.
FAQs
The verse underscores the immense duration and intensity of tapas, presenting spiritual attainment as the fruit of long endurance.
No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this half-verse; it is a transitional narrative line within the tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.
It references vāyubhakṣa discipline (subsisting on air/breath) as an austerity, not a public ritual prescription.