Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24
हाहाकारस्ततौ जज्ञे समस्ते यज्ञमण्डपे । दृष्ट्वा कपालसंघांस्तान्यज्ञ कर्मप्रदूषकान्
hāhākārastatau jajñe samaste yajñamaṇḍape | dṛṣṭvā kapālasaṃghāṃstānyajña karmapradūṣakān
Ein großer Schrei des Entsetzens breitete sich im gesamten Opferpavillon aus, als man diese Massen von Schädeln sah, die das Werk des Opfers besudelten.
Unspecified narrator (within Sūta’s ongoing narration)
Type: kshetra
Scene: The entire pavilion erupts in ‘hāhākāra’: priests and attendees raise hands, some step back from the skull heaps; the yajña fire flickers as the ritual order collapses into alarm.
FAQs
Ritual dharma is communal and sensitive; when sacred action is polluted, the entire assembly is shaken, prompting a turn toward remedy and right order.
The verse centers on the yajña-maṇḍapa in the chapter’s tīrtha narrative; it does not name the place directly.
No explicit prescription here; it identifies the kapālas as 'defilers of yajña-work,' setting up the need for corrective measures.