Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

यावद्वर्षसहस्रांतं जलाहारो द्वितीयकम् । तपस्तेपे स दैत्येन्द्रो ध्यायमानः पितामहम्

Transliteration

yāvadvarṣasahasrāṃtaṃ jalāhāro dvitīyakam | tapastepe sa daityendro dhyāyamānaḥ pitāmaham

Translation

പൂർണ്ണമായൊരു ആയിരം വർഷം ജലത്തെ മാത്രം ഏകാഹാരമാക്കി, ആ ദൈത്യേന്ദ്രൻ പിതാമഹൻ ബ്രഹ്മാവിനെ ധ്യാനിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് മഹത്തായ തപസ് ചെയ്തു।

Word by Word

• यावत्: up to; for as long as
• यावत्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal limit/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/संबन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: परिमाणवाचक-अव्ययम् (as long as; up to)

• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: up to the end of a thousand years
• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष-सहस्र-अन्त (प्रातिपदिक; वर्ष + सहस्र + अन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (acc. sg. neut.); कालपरिमाणम्

• जलाहारः: water as food; subsisting on water
• जलाहारः: Kartr̥ (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल-आहार (प्रातिपदिक; जल + आहार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (nom. sg. masc.)

• द्वितीयकम्: as the second (stage)
• द्वितीयकम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीयक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (second)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (acc. sg. neut.)

• तेपे: performed
• तेपे: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्

• सः: he
• सः: Kartr̥ (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (nom. sg.)

• दैत्येन्द्रः: lord of the demons
• दैत्येन्द्रः: Kartr̥ (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य-इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक; दैत्य + इन्द्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (nom. sg. masc.)

• ध्यायमानः: meditating
• ध्यायमानः: Kartr̥ (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• पितामहम्: the Grandfather (Brahmā)
• पितामहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (acc. sg. masc.); ब्रह्मा

Speaker

Sūta (continued narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis / or ‘dvija’ audience (addressed as dvija-uttamāḥ in the passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A daitya-king seated in deep meditation, sustained only by water, surrounded by a stark sacred landscape; the atmosphere is charged with tapas-śakti as time stretches across a millennium.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Daitya leader (Vṛka implied)
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense, sustained tapas coupled with focused meditation is depicted as a force that compels divine response—yet its fruits must align with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The austerity is part of the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya sequence, reinforcing the kṣetra as su-siddhi-dam (giver of attainments).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Jalāhāra (subsisting on water) and long-term tapas with dhyāna are mentioned as the ascetic regimen.