Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38
विषण्णवदनाः सर्वे भयभीता समंततः । धावतो भक्षितास्ताभिर्देवताभिः सुनिर्दयम्
viṣaṇṇavadanāḥ sarve bhayabhītā samaṃtataḥ | dhāvato bhakṣitāstābhirdevatābhiḥ sunirdayam
وكانوا جميعًا بوجوهٍ كئيبةٍ من اليأس، وقد أحاط بهم الخوف من كل جانب، ففرّوا؛ غير أنّ تلك الآلهة التهمتهم بلا رحمة وهم يركضون.
Narrator (contextual; specific speaker not stated in snippet)
Listener: dvija-sattama (best of twice-born)
Scene: A terrified crowd fleeing in all directions, faces downcast; behind them fierce radiant devatās pursue and consume them, conveying inexorable divine retribution.
FAQs
Adharma that terrorizes the world ultimately meets divine retribution; fear arises when one confronts the consequences of wrongdoing.
The setting is within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the excerpt does not name a specific tīrtha.
None; the verse narrates the defeat of the hostile party.