Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

पृथक्सांतपनद्रव्यैः षडहः सोपवासकः । सप्ताहेन तु कृच्छ्रोयं महासांतपनः स्मृतः

Transliteration

pṛthaksāṃtapanadravyaiḥ ṣaḍahaḥ sopavāsakaḥ | saptāhena tu kṛcchroyaṃ mahāsāṃtapanaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

Kapag ang mga sangkap ng Sāṃtapana ay tinatanggap nang magkakahiwalay sa loob ng anim na araw, na may kasamang pag-aayuno, ang kṛcchra na natatapos sa loob ng isang linggo ay tinatawag na Mahā-sāṃtapana.

Word by Word

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: separately)

• सांतपनद्रव्यैः: with the Sāṃtapana substances
• सांतपनद्रव्यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सांतपन + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (सांतपनस्य द्रव्याणि)

• षडहः: a period of six days
• षडहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता; कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षडह (प्रातिपदिक; षट् + अहन्)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणवाचक

• सोपवासकः: together with fasting
• सोपवासकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता; विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + उपवासक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष/सह-समासार्थ (उपवासेन सह)

• सप्ताहेन: by (the duration of) a week
• सप्ताहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण; कालपरिमाणेन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्ताह (प्रातिपदिक; सप्त + अहन्)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणवाचक

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषबोधक (particle: but/indeed)

• कृच्छ्रः: the Kṛcchra (penance)
• कृच्छ्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; व्रतनाम

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता; विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• महासांतपनः: Mahā-sāṃtapana
• महासांतपनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता; नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + सांतपन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् सांतपनः)

• स्मृतः: is declared
• स्मृतः: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘is said/considered’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse, typically Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A week-long austerity depicted as a sequence of six ritual days with distinct offerings/ingestions, culminating in a composed completion day; the Gaṅgā and ghats frame the discipline.

Characters & Entities

• Mahā-sāṃtapana
• Sāṃtapana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Greater purification is sought through more structured, time-bound austerity, emphasizing perseverance and self-restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred landscape where such dharmic disciplines are taught for inner and outer purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mahā-sāṃtapana: Sāṃtapana substances taken separately across six days, with fasting, completing the observance over a week.