Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
तस्मात्तपस्विनो यै च ये च यज्ञपरायणाः । तथान्ये निरता धर्मे निहन्तव्या निशागमे
tasmāttapasvino yai ca ye ca yajñaparāyaṇāḥ | tathānye niratā dharme nihantavyā niśāgame
Deshalb sollen die Asketen, die Opferpriester und alle anderen, die im Dharma feststehen, bei Einbruch der Nacht getötet werden.
Unspecified in the provided snippet (within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)
Scene: Nightfall in a forest āśrama: sleeping or meditating sages, a dim sacrificial fire, and stealthy dānavas approaching with weapons—tension between sacred calm and impending violence.
FAQs
It highlights a dark, adharma-laden injunction: even the righteous—ascetics, sacrificers, and dharma-abiding people—are targeted, underscoring the need to recognize and resist unrighteous violence.
This single verse does not name a specific tīrtha; it sits within the broader Tīrthamāhātmya context of Nāgarakhaṇḍa, where surrounding verses typically supply the site and its glory.
No positive ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed here; the verse instead mentions yajña devotion (yajña-parāyaṇa) as a quality of the people referenced.