Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

द्वादशाहात्तथा चान्ये अन्ये मासार्धभोजनाः । दर्शे दर्शे तथा चान्ये अन्ये शैवालभोजनाः

Transliteration

dvādaśāhāttathā cānye anye māsārdhabhojanāḥ | darśe darśe tathā cānye anye śaivālabhojanāḥ

Translation

کچھ لوگ بارہ دن کے بعد ہی آہار لیتے؛ کچھ آدھے مہینے کے بعد۔ کچھ ہر اماوسیا کے درش ورت پر کھاتے، اور کچھ شیوال اور آبی پودوں پر گزارا کرتے تھے۔

Word by Word

• द्वादश-अहात्: after twelve days / from the twelfth day
• द्वादश-अहात्: Apādāna (Source/Starting point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + aha(n) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; काल-निर्देश (from/after twelve days)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थ (likewise)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• मास-अर्ध-भोजनाः: those who eat (only) at half-month intervals
• मास-अर्ध-भोजनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (अन्ये)

• दर्शे: on the new-moon day
• दर्शे: Adhikaraṇa (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; (new-moon day)

• दर्शे: on each new-moon day
• दर्शे: Adhikaraṇa (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (repetition: each new-moon)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थ (likewise)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• शैवाल-भोजनाः: those who eat algae/pond-vegetation
• शैवाल-भोजनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaivāla (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (अन्ये)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (upavāsa-tapas tradition)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

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.

Characters & Entities

• Darśa (new moon)
• Ṛṣis
• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity through measured food and fasting is presented as a dharmic means to mastery over the senses.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa āśrama region where such tapas is practiced.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Long-interval eating (12 days, half-month), darśa-based eating, and subsistence on śaivāla are described.