Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24
नियमैश्चोप वासैश्च शोषयन्देहमात्मनः । जलाहारा वायुभक्षाः पर्णाहाराश्च तापसाः । तथा च स्थंडिलशया ये चान्ये नियताः पृथक्
niyamaiścopa vāsaiśca śoṣayandehamātmanaḥ | jalāhārā vāyubhakṣāḥ parṇāhārāśca tāpasāḥ | tathā ca sthaṃḍilaśayā ye cānye niyatāḥ pṛthak
以诸般戒律与斋戒，苦行者令自身枯瘦：或唯以水为食，或如“食风”，或以叶为粮；亦有卧于裸地者，以及其他各自奉行不同清规之人。
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as tapas-bhūmi)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sage/audience within māhātmya (implied)
Scene: A tableau of ascetics practicing different austerities: one subsisting on water, one in prāṇāyāma-like ‘air-feeding,’ one eating leaves, one sleeping on bare ground (sthaṇḍila-śayyā), others in distinct disciplines; set near a forested sacred landscape.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma recognizes many graded forms of tapas—discipline and restraint are central, even when practiced differently.
The broader Prabhāsa/Sarasvatī tīrtha setting of this chapter, where such disciplines are praised as spiritually potent.
Observing niyamas and upavāsa, including austere diets and sleeping on the ground, as recognized forms of spiritual discipline.