Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12
यस्तु मासोपवासं च वसिष्ठाग्रे करोति च । सोऽपि मुक्तिमवाप्नोति न याति स भवार्णवम्
yastu māsopavāsaṃ ca vasiṣṭhāgre karoti ca | so'pi muktimavāpnoti na yāti sa bhavārṇavam
जो वसिष्ठांच्या समोर मासोपवास करतो, तोही मोक्ष प्राप्त करतो; तो भवसागरात पडत नाही।
Sūta (deduced, Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Vasiṣṭha-tīrtha (Arbuda)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A month-long vow depicted as a calendar-like cycle: the devotee remains steadfast before Vasiṣṭha through sunrises and moon phases; the ocean of saṃsāra shown as dark waves behind, while a clear, luminous path opens toward a serene, formless light (mokṣa).
FAQs
Intense austerity anchored in a holy place and directed toward a revered spiritual presence is framed as a direct means toward liberation.
Vasiṣṭha’s āśrama—specifically, the sacred space ‘before Vasiṣṭha’ where the vow is undertaken.
Māsa-upavāsa: observing a month-long fast in Vasiṣṭha’s presence.