Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

एकांतरोपवासी य एकः स्याज्जीवितावधि । एकोविष्णुपदीतोये स्नाति द्वाभ्यां समं फलम्

Transliteration

ekāṃtaropavāsī ya ekaḥ syājjīvitāvadhi | ekoviṣṇupadītoye snāti dvābhyāṃ samaṃ phalam

Translation

ജീവിതകാലം മുഴുവൻ ഒരു ദിവസം വിട്ട് ഒരു ദിവസം ഉപവസിക്കുന്നവന് ലഭിക്കുന്ന ഫലം എത്രയോ; വിഷ്ണുപദീ തീർത്ഥജലത്തിൽ ഒരിക്കൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്താലും ആ രണ്ടിനും തുല്യമായ ഫലം ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ekāntara-upavāsī: one who fasts on alternate days
• ekāntara-upavāsī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka-antara-upavāsin (प्रातिपदिक; एक + अन्तर + उपवासिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (yaḥ… ekaḥ: apposition)

• syāt: would be
• syāt: Kriyā (क्रिया/Being)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• jīvitāvadhi: until the end of life
• jīvitāvadhi: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jīvita-avadhi (प्रातिपदिक; जीवित + अवधि)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (indeclinable adverbial: ‘up to the limit of life’)

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• viṣṇupadītoye: in Viṣṇupadī water
• viṣṇupadītoye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇupadī-toya (प्रातिपदिक; विष्णुपदी + तोय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• snāti: bathes
• snāti: Kriyā (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• dvābhyām: with two (acts/persons)
• dvābhyām: Sahakāraka/Instrument (करण/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), द्विवचन (Dual)

• samam: equally
• samam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत्

• phalam: fruit, result
• phalam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadī

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee bathes once in Viṣṇupadī while a faint background montage shows a life of alternate-day fasting—calendar-like marks, thin ascetic figure—contrasted with the single luminous snāna.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇupadī
• upavāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text emphasizes the concentrated merit of a great tīrtha, portrayed as matching lifelong austerities like alternate-day fasting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Viṣṇupadī-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upavāsa (alternate-day fasting) is cited for comparison; the recommended act is snāna in Viṣṇupadī.