Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

पिण्याकघृततक्रांबु सक्तूनां प्रतिवासरम् । एकैकमुपवासश्च कृच्छ्रः सौम्यः प्रकीर्तितः

Transliteration

piṇyākaghṛtatakrāṃbu saktūnāṃ prativāsaram | ekaikamupavāsaśca kṛcchraḥ saumyaḥ prakīrtitaḥ

Translation

ദിവസേന ക്രമമായി പിണ്യാകം, നെയ്യ്, മോര്, വെള്ളം, സത്തു (വറുത്ത യവപ്പൊടി) എന്നിവയിൽ ഓരോന്നായി സ്വീകരിക്കുകയും, വിധിപ്രകാരം ഉപവാസം പാലിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നതാണ് ‘സൗമ്യ കൃച്ഛ്ര’ എന്നു കീര്ത്തിക്കപ്പെടുന്നത്.

Word by Word

• piṇyāka-ghṛta-takra-ambu: oil-cake, ghee, buttermilk, and water
• piṇyāka-ghṛta-takra-ambu: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇyāka (प्रातिपदिक) + ghṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + takra (प्रातिपदिक) + ambu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समासः (समाहार-द्वन्द्व): ‘oil-cake, ghee, buttermilk, water’ (as items)

• saktūnām: of roasted flour (saktu)
• saktūnām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saktu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-बहुवचन (Genitive plural)

• prativāsaram: every day
• prativāsaram: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati + vāsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्यय (adverb): ‘each day’

• ekaikam: one by one
• ekaikam: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘one by one’

• upavāsaḥ: fasting
• upavāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upavāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• kṛcchraḥ: the kṛcchra penance
• kṛcchraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन

• saumyaḥ: gentle/‘saumya’
• saumyaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saumya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier) of kṛcchraḥ

• prakīrtitaḥ: is declared
• prakīrtitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √kīrt (कीर्त्, धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन; ‘is proclaimed’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general vrata context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vrata-observer in Kāśī with five small bowls arranged in a row—oil-cake, ghee, buttermilk, water, roasted barley flour—each labeled by day; the figure maintains a calm, devotional posture near a shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Moderate, methodical austerity—rather than extremes—can function as an effective expiation and purifier.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This teaching is embedded in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s dharmic instruction set connected to Kāśī’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saumya Kṛcchra: a day-by-day sequence of piṇyāka, ghṛta, takra, ambu, and saktū, with fasting as part of the regimen.