Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
देवाश्च निधनं प्राप्ता न जीवंति कथंचन । कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य विष्णुं प्रोवाच वृत्रहा
devāśca nidhanaṃ prāptā na jīvaṃti kathaṃcana | kasyacittvatha kālasya viṣṇuṃ provāca vṛtrahā
Doch die Devas, die den Tod erlitten hatten, kehrten auf keinerlei Weise ins Leben zurück. Nach einiger Zeit wandte sich Vṛtrahā (Indra) an Viṣṇu.
Narrator (speaker not explicit in this verse)
Tirtha: Dhārātīrtha (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A king (mahārāja)
Scene: After devas fall and cannot be revived, Indra (Vṛtrahā) approaches Viṣṇu to ask for clarification; the mood shifts from war to supplication.
FAQs
The verse turns from mere battlefield events to dharmic inquiry: the true question is one’s gati after death, especially in relation to a tīrtha.
Dhārātīrtha is the Adhyāya’s tīrtha under discussion; the inquiry to Viṣṇu introduces its doctrine.
None; it introduces a theological question posed to Viṣṇu.