Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
अस्थिशेषा निरुत्साहास्त्यक्तधर्मव्रतक्रियाः । अभक्ष्यभक्षणपरास्तथैवापेयपायिनः
asthiśeṣā nirutsāhāstyaktadharmavratakriyāḥ | abhakṣyabhakṣaṇaparāstathaivāpeyapāyinaḥ
Bis auf die Knochen abgemagert und ohne Kraft gaben sie Dharma, Gelübde (Vrata) und rituelle Pflichten auf. Sie begannen zu essen, was nicht gegessen werden darf, und ebenso zu trinken, was nicht getrunken werden darf.
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.