Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

एकांतरोपवासी य एकः स्याज्जीवितावधि । एकोविष्णुपदीतोये स्नाति द्वाभ्यां समं फलम्

Transliteration

ekāṃtaropavāsī ya ekaḥ syājjīvitāvadhi | ekoviṣṇupadītoye snāti dvābhyāṃ samaṃ phalam

Translation

کوئی شخص عمر بھر ایک دن چھوڑ کر ایک دن روزہ رکھے؛ پھر بھی وِشنوپدی کے مقدّس جل میں ایک بار اسنان کرنا دونوں کے برابر پھل دیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• ekāntara-upavāsī: one who fasts on alternate days
• ekāntara-upavāsī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka-antara-upavāsin (प्रातिपदिक; एक + अन्तर + उपवासिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (yaḥ… ekaḥ: apposition)

• syāt: would be
• syāt: Kriyā (क्रिया/Being)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• jīvitāvadhi: until the end of life
• jīvitāvadhi: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jīvita-avadhi (प्रातिपदिक; जीवित + अवधि)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (indeclinable adverbial: ‘up to the limit of life’)

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• viṣṇupadītoye: in Viṣṇupadī water
• viṣṇupadītoye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇupadī-toya (प्रातिपदिक; विष्णुपदी + तोय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• snāti: bathes
• snāti: Kriyā (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• dvābhyām: with two (acts/persons)
• dvābhyām: Sahakāraka/Instrument (करण/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), द्विवचन (Dual)

• samam: equally
• samam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत्

• phalam: fruit, result
• phalam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadī

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee bathes once in Viṣṇupadī while a faint background montage shows a life of alternate-day fasting—calendar-like marks, thin ascetic figure—contrasted with the single luminous snāna.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇupadī
• upavāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text emphasizes the concentrated merit of a great tīrtha, portrayed as matching lifelong austerities like alternate-day fasting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Viṣṇupadī-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upavāsa (alternate-day fasting) is cited for comparison; the recommended act is snāna in Viṣṇupadī.