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

لیکن جو شخص وہاں ایک ماہ تک ضبطِ نفس کے ساتھ رہے اور دن میں صرف ایک بار کھانا کھائے، اس کے عمر بھر کے جمع کیے ہوئے گناہ یکایک مٹ جاتے ہیں۔

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.