Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

कृच्छ्रचांद्रायणैश्चैव क्षपयंति स्वकं वपुः । त्रुटिमात्राशनास्ते तु त्रुटिकाः साधका मताः

Transliteration

kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇaiścaiva kṣapayaṃti svakaṃ vapuḥ | truṭimātrāśanāste tu truṭikāḥ sādhakā matāḥ

Translation

കൃച്ഛ്രം, ചാന്ദ്രായണം മുതലായ കഠിനവ്രതതപസ്സുകളാൽ അവർ സ്വന്തം ശരീരം ക്ഷയിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ത്രുടി-മാത്രം ആഹരിക്കുന്നവർ ‘ത്രുടികാ’ സാധകർ എന്നു കരുതപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇaiḥ: by (means of) kṛcchra and cāndrāyaṇa observances
• kṛcchracāṃdrāyaṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛcchra-cāṃdrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व: कृच्छ्रं च चान्द्रायणं च (austerity and cāndrāyaṇa vow)

• ca: and
• ca: Conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (एव)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (restrictive/emphatic particle)

• kṣapayanti: they waste away / diminish
• kṣapayanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣap (क्षप्)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• svakam: their own
• svakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण to 'vapuḥ'

• vapuḥ: body
• vapuḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• truṭimātrāśanāḥ: eating only a minute measure
• truṭimātrāśanāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: truṭi-mātrā-aśana (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: त्रुटिमात्रम् (a tiny measure) अशनम् (eating) येषां ते; adjectival to 'truṭikāḥ'

• te: those
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषणार्थक निपात

• truṭikāḥ: truṭikā-s (a class of ascetics)
• truṭikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: truṭikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• sādhakāḥ: practitioners
• sādhakāḥ: Predicate nominative (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• matāḥ: are considered
• matāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mata (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √man/मन् + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त used predicatively (passive): 'are considered'

Speaker

Sūta (deduced, Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ascetics in Prabhāsa perform severe vows—counting lunar days for Cāndrāyaṇa, enduring Kṛcchra austerities, taking only a speck-like measure of food; their bodies lean, faces composed, eyes inward.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsakṣetra
• Kṛcchra
• Cāndrāyaṇa
• Truṭikā-sādhaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True sanctity in a tīrtha is upheld by disciplined restraint—especially mastery over food and bodily comfort—undertaken as dharmic vows.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented as a field where rigorous vow-keepers and sādhakas reside.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance of Kṛcchra and Cāndrāyaṇa vows and extreme dietary restriction (truṭimātra-āhāra) as a recognized ascetic discipline.