Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

एकाहारो वसन्मासं तथा षष्ठाह्नकालिकः । पक्षोपवासी न्यवसत्कंचित्कालं नृपोत्तम

Transliteration

ekāhāro vasanmāsaṃ tathā ṣaṣṭhāhnakālikaḥ | pakṣopavāsī nyavasatkaṃcitkālaṃ nṛpottama

Translation

ഹേ നൃപോത്തമാ, ഒരു മാസം അവൻ ഏകാഹാരിയായി വസിച്ചു; പിന്നെ ആറാം ദിവസാന്തരത്തിൽ മാത്രം ആഹാരം കഴിച്ചു; കുറെകാലം പക്ഷോപവാസവും അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• एकाहारः: taking one meal (a day)
• एकाहारः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक + आहार (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम्; ‘वसन्/न्यवसत्’ कर्तुः विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः—एकः आहारः यस्य (one-meal)

• वसन्: dwelling, staying
• वसन्: Kriya (Participial/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु) → वसत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्तः (शतृ), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम्; धातुः—वस् (निवासे)

• मासम्: for a month
• मासम्: Karma (Extent of time/कालावधि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम्; कालपरिमाणे द्वितीया

• तथा: also, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb) — ‘thus/also’

• षष्ठाह्नकालिकः: observing the sixth-day regimen
• षष्ठाह्नकालिकः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्ठ + अह्न + कालिक (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः—षष्ठे अह्नि कालः यस्य/षष्ठाह्नकालिकः (taking food at the sixth day/time)

• पक्षोपवासी: fasting for a fortnight
• पक्षोपवासी: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पक्ष + उपवासिन् (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः—पक्षे उपवासः यस्य/पक्षोपवासी

• न्यवसत्: stayed, dwelt
• न्यवसत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + वस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूतकालः), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; धातुः—वस् (निवासे) उपसर्गः—नि

• कंचित्: some
• कंचित्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम्; अनिश्चितार्थक-सर्वनाम (indefinite) — ‘some’

• कालम्: time, period
• कालम्: Karma (Extent of time/कालावधि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचनम्; कालपरिमाणे द्वितीया

• नृपोत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपोत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः—नृपाणाम् उत्तमः

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāverī–Narmadā-saṅgama (vrata-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpottama (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kubera in ascetic mode: seated on kusa grass near a shrine, leaner in depiction, counting days, taking a single simple meal; later scenes show him refusing food, maintaining calm amid attendants’ concern.

Characters & Entities

• Kubera (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady, graduated austerity—undertaken with resolve—purifies desire and strengthens devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The confluence tīrtha remains the backdrop, where prolonged tapas is undertaken.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ekāhāra (one meal daily), ṣaṣṭhāhna regimen (eating at sixth-day intervals), and pakṣopavāsa (fortnight fasting).