Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

एकाहारस्तु यस्तिष्ठेन्मासं तत्र यतव्रतः । यावज्जीवकृतं पापं सहसा तस्य नश्यति

Transliteration

ekāhārastu yastiṣṭhenmāsaṃ tatra yatavrataḥ | yāvajjīvakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ sahasā tasya naśyati

Translation

แต่ผู้ใดพำนัก ณ ที่นั้นตลอดหนึ่งเดือน ด้วยความสำรวมในวัตร และฉันเพียงวันละมื้อเดียว บาปที่สั่งสมมาตลอดชีวิตของผู้นั้นย่อมดับสิ้นโดยฉับพลัน

Word by Word

• एकाहारः: one-meal (observer)
• एकाहारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-आहार (प्रातिपदिक; एक + आहार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (masc. nom. sg.)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (relative pronoun masc. nom. sg.)

• तिष्ठेत्: should remain/observe
• तिष्ठेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (optative, 3rd sg., Parasmaipada)

• मासम्: for a month
• मासम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (masc. acc. sg.)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• यतव्रतः: of restrained vow
• यतव्रतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यत-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक; यत + व्रत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (masc. nom. sg.)

• यावत्: as much as / whatever
• यावत्: Correlative (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/संबन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिबोधक अव्यय (correlative: as much as/so long as)

• जीवकृतम्: done in (one's) lifetime
• जीवकृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीव-कृत (प्रातिपदिक; जीव + कृत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (neut. nom./acc. sg.)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (neut. nom. sg.)

• सहसा: at once
• सहसा: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा (अव्यय)
• Form: रीत्यर्थक अव्यय (adverb: suddenly/quickly)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (pronoun gen. sg.)

• नश्यति: perishes/is destroyed
• नश्यति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (present, 3rd sg., Parasmaipada)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; Ayodhyāmāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā-kṣetra (context of Tilodakī section)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A restrained pilgrim in simple cloth resides in Ayodhyā for a month, taking a single daily meal, with Rāma’s presence implied through temple spires and sacred riverbank; a subtle aura of sins dissolving like smoke.

Characters & Entities

• Vrata
• Ekāhāra
• Tīrtha (saṅgama implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained discipline at a sacred place powerfully purifies karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘there’ refers to the praised Ayodhyā-region tīrtha, especially the Tilodakī–Sarayū saṅgama context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-vāsa for a month with ekāhāra (one meal daily) under vrata/self-restraint.