Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अथ वर्षसहस्रे तु व्यतिक्रान्ते द्विजोत्तमाः । अन्यस्मिन्वायुभक्षस्य विश्वामित्रस्य भूपतेः

Transliteration

atha varṣasahasre tu vyatikrānte dvijottamāḥ | anyasminvāyubhakṣasya viśvāmitrasya bhūpateḥ

Translation

പിന്നീട്, ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമാ, ആയിരം വർഷം കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ—മറ്റൊരു സമയത്ത്—വായുവേ ആഹാരമായി ജീവിച്ച രാജാവ് വിശ്വാമിത്രനെക്കുറിച്ച്…

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भार्थक (then/now)

• वर्षसहस्रे: after/in a thousand years
• वर्षसहस्रे: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (सहस्रं वर्षाणि)

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• व्यतिक्रान्ते: having elapsed
• व्यतिक्रान्ते: Adhikarana (Temporal condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + अति + क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle) ‘elapsed’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध (वर्षसहस्रे व्यतिक्रान्ते)

• द्विजोत्तमाः: the best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (द्विजानाम् उत्तमाः)

• अन्यस्मिन्: in another (time/occasion)
• अन्यस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; विशेषण (काले/अवसरे)

• वायुभक्षस्य: of (him) who subsists on air
• वायुभक्षस्य: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वायु (प्रातिपदिक) + भक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (वायुः भक्ष्यः यस्य/वायुभक्षः) — here genitive qualifying viśvāmitrasya

• विश्वामित्रस्य: of Viśvāmitra
• विश्वामित्रस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वामित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• भूपतेः: of the king
• भूपतेः: Sambandha (Appositional genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (भूः पाति इति)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A time-lapse feel: seasons passing around an unmoving ascetic; leaves fall, rains come, sun blazes—yet Viśvāmitra remains steadfast, sustained only by air.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse underscores the immense duration and intensity of tapas, presenting spiritual attainment as the fruit of long endurance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this half-verse; it is a transitional narrative line within the tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references vāyubhakṣa discipline (subsisting on air/breath) as an austerity, not a public ritual prescription.