Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

यावद्वर्षसहस्रांतं फलाहारो बभूव ह । शीर्णपर्णाशनाहारो यावद्वर्षसहस्रकम्

Transliteration

yāvadvarṣasahasrāṃtaṃ phalāhāro babhūva ha | śīrṇaparṇāśanāhāro yāvadvarṣasahasrakam

Translation

ہزار برس تک وہ پھلوں پر گزارا کرتا رہا؛ اور پھر ایک اور ہزار برس تک گرے ہوئے پتّوں ہی کو غذا بنا کر جیتا رہا۔

Word by Word

• यावत्: up to/as long as
• यावत्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: परिमाणवाचक-अव्यय (correlative: as long as/up to)

• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: till the end of a thousand years
• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Duration/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘वर्ष-सहस्र-अन्त’ = ‘end of a thousand years’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; परिमाणे

• फलाहारः: one whose food was fruits
• फलाहारः: Karta/Predicate-noun (State)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक) + आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘फल-आहार’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• बभूव: became/was
• बभूव: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ह: indeed
• ह: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; narrative emphasis)

• शीर्णपर्णाशनाहारः: one whose food was fallen leaves
• शीर्णपर्णाशनाहारः: Karta/Predicate-noun (State)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीर्ण (कृदन्त, शॄ धातु) + पर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + अशन्/अशन (प्रातिपदिक) + आहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (‘शीर्ण-पर्ण-अशन-आहार’ = ‘food consisting of eating fallen leaves’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• यावत्: up to/as long as
• यावत्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: परिमाणवाचक-अव्यय (as long as/up to)

• वर्षसहस्रकम्: for a thousand years
• वर्षसहस्रकम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Duration/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्व: ‘वर्ष-सहस्रक’ = ‘a thousand years’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; परिमाणे

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (assembly of sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A time-lapse austerity tableau: Prahlāda under the same tree across ages—first with fruits offered by nature, later with only fallen leaves; seasons cycle around him while he remains unmoved.

Characters & Entities

• Andhaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast austerity is shown through long-term discipline in food and habits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A specific tīrtha is not named in this verse; it supports the broader Tīrthamāhātmya narrative context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dietary austerities (phalāhāra; then eating fallen leaves) are described as part of tapas.