Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
अस्थिशेषा निरुत्साहास्त्यक्तधर्मव्रतक्रियाः । अभक्ष्यभक्षणपरास्तथैवापेयपायिनः
asthiśeṣā nirutsāhāstyaktadharmavratakriyāḥ | abhakṣyabhakṣaṇaparāstathaivāpeyapāyinaḥ
তেওঁলোক অস্থিমাত্ৰ অৱশিষ্ট, উৎসাহহীন হৈ পৰিল; ধৰ্ম, ব্ৰত আৰু ক্ৰিয়াকৰ্ম ত্যাগ কৰিলে। যি ভক্ষণীয় নহয় তাকেই খালে, আৰু যি পানীয় নহয় তাকেই পান কৰিলে।
Sūta (continuing narration)
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Emaciated people with sunken cheeks, listless posture; scenes of taboo food/drink taken in desperation; abandoned ritual fires cold and ash-covered in the background.
FAQs
When survival pressures rise, dharma can erode—hence Purāṇas emphasize refuges (tīrthas, vows, rites) that restore order and purity.
Not named in this verse; it continues the adhyāya’s backstory leading to the Saptarṣi-tīrtha’s prominence.
Implicitly warns against abandoning vrata and kriyā and against consuming abhakṣya/āpeya; it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.