Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

एकाहारा निराहारा वायुभक्षास्तथा परे । अन्ये मासोपवासाश्च चान्द्रायणपरायणाः

Transliteration

ekāhārā nirāhārā vāyubhakṣāstathā pare | anye māsopavāsāśca cāndrāyaṇaparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

ചിലർ ദിവസത്തിൽ ഒരിക്കൽ മാത്രം ഭക്ഷണം കഴിച്ചു; ചിലർ നിരാഹാരരായി; ചിലർ വായുവേ ആഹാരമാക്കി. മറ്റുചിലർ മാസോപവാസം അനുഷ്ഠിച്ച് ചാന്ദ്രായണ വ്രതത്തിൽ നിഷ്ഠരായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• eka-āhārāḥ: having one meal (a day)
• eka-āhārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (एकः आहारः येषाम्/one-meal)

• nir-āhārāḥ: fasting (without food)
• nir-āhārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir (उपसर्ग) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; उपसर्ग-निषेध (without food/fasting)

• vāyu-bhakṣāḥ: living on air
• vāyu-bhakṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (वायुः भक्ष्यः येषाम् = living on air)

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (रीति-वाचक/Adverb)

• pare: others
• pare: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; (others)

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; (others)

• māsa-upavāsāḥ: month-long fasts
• māsa-upavāsāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक) + upavāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (मासस्य उपवासः = month-long fasts)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/Conjunction)

• cāndrāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ: devoted to the Cāndrāyaṇa observance
• cāndrāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cāndrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (चान्द्रायण-व्रते परायणाः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing a king: likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Different groups of ascetics: one taking a single meal, another fasting, another depicted as vāyu-bhakṣa (symbolic—breath-focused), and a group marking lunar phases for Cāndrāyaṇa; moon above the mountain grove.

Characters & Entities

• vratins
• Cāndrāyaṇa (vrata)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Self-restraint through regulated food and fasting is presented as a classic Purāṇic path for purifying karma and steadying devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda sacred landscape (Arbuda-khaṇḍa) within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ekāhāra, nirāhāra, māsopavāsa, and especially the Cāndrāyaṇa vow.