Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 35
द्वादशाहात्तथा चान्ये अन्ये मासार्धभोजनाः । दर्शे दर्शे तथा चान्ये अन्ये शैवालभोजनाः
dvādaśāhāttathā cānye anye māsārdhabhojanāḥ | darśe darśe tathā cānye anye śaivālabhojanāḥ
சிலர் பன்னிரண்டு நாட்கள் கழித்தே உண்பர்; சிலர் அரைமாதத்திற்கு ஒருமுறை உண்பர். சிலர் ஒவ்வொரு தர்ஷத்தில் (அமாவாசையில்) உண்பர்; சிலர் சைவாலம் போன்ற நீர்த் தாவரங்களால் வாழ்வர்.
Sūta (deduced)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (upavāsa-tapas tradition)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: Ascetics with lean frames and serene faces; one marks days on a string of knots (12-day cycle), another waits for half-month; a new-moon (darśa) night scene with a thin crescent absent and dark sky; some gather river algae/water-plants in a humble bowl near the river edge.
FAQs
Austerity through measured food and fasting is presented as a dharmic means to mastery over the senses.
The Revā Khaṇḍa āśrama region where such tapas is practiced.
Long-interval eating (12 days, half-month), darśa-based eating, and subsistence on śaivāla are described.