Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
अब्भक्षैर्वायुभक्षैश्च शीर्णपर्णाशिभिस्तथा । दन्तोलूखलिभिर्विप्रैः सेवितं चाश्मकुट्टकैः
abbhakṣairvāyubhakṣaiśca śīrṇaparṇāśibhistathā | dantolūkhalibhirvipraiḥ sevitaṃ cāśmakuṭṭakaiḥ
その聖なる林は、厳しい誓戒を守るバラモンたちに親しまれていた。水のみを糧とする者、風のみを糧とする者、落ち葉のみを食する者があり、歯を臼のごとくして噛み砕く者、石の上で搗いた穀をもって命をつなぐ者もいた。かくしてその地は峻厳な苦行者たちにより守り仕えられていた。
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) — deductive attribution from Purāṇic narrative style in Māhātmya passages
Type: kshetra
Scene: A ring of ascetics in a forest: one sipping only water, another in breath-control austerity, others gathering fallen leaves; a few grind grains on stone; faces lean, eyes bright, bodies disciplined.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s greatness is shown by the caliber of tapas practiced there—purity, restraint, and renunciation sanctify the land.
A sacred forest-āśrama within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (the precise named tīrtha appears later in the narrative).
Not a ritual act but ascetic disciplines: living on water, air, fallen leaves, and minimal food prepared by stone-pounding.