Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 60
मूलस्थानं च कर्तव्यं ततः सस्यप्रभक्षणम् । सोऽहं तानविलोक्याथ कथं गच्छामि मन्दिरम् । भक्षयामि तथा सस्यं तेन त्यक्ष्यामि जीवितम्
mūlasthānaṃ ca kartavyaṃ tataḥ sasyaprabhakṣaṇam | so'haṃ tānavilokyātha kathaṃ gacchāmi mandiram | bhakṣayāmi tathā sasyaṃ tena tyakṣyāmi jīvitam
“我当修持苦行：先以根茎为食，继而方食谷粒。如今既已见到诸位，我怎还能回到居所？纵然如此，我仍将食谷，而由此舍弃此身之命。”
The Brahmin
Type: kshetra
Scene: A suffering brāhmaṇa, emaciated and afflicted, stands at the edge of a sacred field, hands folded, declaring a vow of subsisting on roots and then grain; his gaze is fixed on radiant solar presences, torn between returning home and surrendering life.
FAQs
Austerity without balance can become self-harm; Purāṇic tīrtha narratives often introduce divine guidance to harmonize vairāgya with dharma.
The Nāgarakhaṇḍa mahākṣetra is the implied setting where such vows are undertaken and where divine beings intervene.
Dietary austerities are mentioned: living on roots (mūla) and then on grain (sasya), framed as a personal vow rather than a general injunction.