Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

चैत्रमासे सिते पक्षे एकादश्यां नराधिप । तस्मिन्नहनि नाश्नीयुर्बाला वृद्धास्तथा स्त्रियः

Transliteration

caitramāse site pakṣe ekādaśyāṃ narādhipa | tasminnahani nāśnīyurbālā vṛddhāstathā striyaḥ

Translation

ഹേ നരാധിപാ! ചൈത്രമാസത്തിലെ ശുക്ലപക്ഷ ഏകാദശിദിനത്തിൽ, ആ ദിവസം ബാലരും വൃദ്ധരും സ്ത്രീകളും പോലും അന്നം കഴിക്കുകയില്ല.

Word by Word

• चैत्रमासे: in the month of Caitra
• चैत्रमासे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चैत्रमास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• सिते: in the bright (white)
• सिते: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of पक्षे)

• पक्षे: fortnight
• पक्षे: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• एकादश्याम्: on the eleventh (Ekādaśī)
• एकादश्याम्: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकादशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• नराधिप: O king
• नराधिप: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + अधिप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• तस्मिन्: on that
• तस्मिन्: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of अहनि)

• अहनि: day
• अहनि: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• अश्नीयुः: should eat
• अश्नीयुः: Kriya (Injunctive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; निषेधेन सह—न अश्नीयुः (should not eat)

• बालाः: children
• बालाः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन

• वृद्धाः: the elderly
• वृद्धाः: Karta (co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunctive adverb), अर्थः—अपि/च (also)

• स्त्रियः: women
• स्त्रियः: Karta (co-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator addressing a King (listener implied by 'narādhipa')

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śūlabheda

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A spring Ekādaśī at Śūlabheda: families and ascetics gathered, all observing upavāsa; people hold prayer beads, offer lamps and flowers, and sit in attentive devotion under canopies near the river.

Characters & Entities

• Caitra
• Śukla Pakṣa
• Ekādaśī
• king (narādhipa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Shared vrata-discipline (fasting and restraint) is portrayed as a powerful expression of dharma within a tīrtha setting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The observance is described in the Śūlabheda-tīrtha context of the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Fasting on Caitra bright-fortnight Ekādaśī—so strict that even women, children, and the elderly are said to refrain from eating.