Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
त्यजंति मातरः पुत्रान्कलत्राणि तथा नराः । भृत्यान्स्वानपि वित्तेशाः का कथान्यसमुद्भवान्
tyajaṃti mātaraḥ putrānkalatrāṇi tathā narāḥ | bhṛtyānsvānapi vitteśāḥ kā kathānyasamudbhavān
Mütter verließen ihre Söhne, und Männer verließen ihre Frauen. Selbst die Reichen gaben ihre eigenen Diener auf—was braucht man da noch von denen aus anderen Häusern zu sprechen?
Sūta (continuing narration)
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Heart-rending separations: a mother turning away from a child, a man leaving his wife, a master dismissing servants; empty streets and closed granaries in the background.
FAQs
Extreme scarcity tests compassion and duty; the Purāṇic frame highlights how dharma collapses without spiritual and material sustenance.
Not specified in the verse; it supports the adhyāya’s māhātmya by portraying the crisis that precedes the tīrtha’s saving role.
None directly; it is a narrative description emphasizing the consequences of adharma under distress.