Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 35
द्वादशाहात्तथा चान्ये अन्ये मासार्धभोजनाः । दर्शे दर्शे तथा चान्ये अन्ये शैवालभोजनाः
dvādaśāhāttathā cānye anye māsārdhabhojanāḥ | darśe darśe tathā cānye anye śaivālabhojanāḥ
ചിലർ പന്ത്രണ്ടു ദിവസത്തിനു ശേഷം മാത്രം ഭുജിച്ചു; ചിലർ അർദ്ധമാസത്തിൽ ഒരിക്കൽ. ചിലർ ഓരോ ദർശത്തിലും (അമാവാസ്യയിൽ) ഭുജിച്ചു; ചിലർ ശൈവാലം മുതലായ ജലസസ്യങ്ങളാൽ ഉപജീവിച്ചു।
Sūta (deduced)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (upavāsa-tapas tradition)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: Ascetics with lean frames and serene faces; one marks days on a string of knots (12-day cycle), another waits for half-month; a new-moon (darśa) night scene with a thin crescent absent and dark sky; some gather river algae/water-plants in a humble bowl near the river edge.
FAQs
Austerity through measured food and fasting is presented as a dharmic means to mastery over the senses.
The Revā Khaṇḍa āśrama region where such tapas is practiced.
Long-interval eating (12 days, half-month), darśa-based eating, and subsistence on śaivāla are described.