Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40
न हुतं पाचयत्यग्निर्वृष्ण्यंधकपुरस्कृतम् । समंतात्प्रत्यवाशंत रासभा दारुणस्वनाः
na hutaṃ pācayatyagnirvṛṣṇyaṃdhakapuraskṛtam | samaṃtātpratyavāśaṃta rāsabhā dāruṇasvanāḥ
Das Feuer verzehrte die von den Vṛṣṇis und Andhakas dargebrachten Opfergaben nicht recht; und ringsumher schrien Esel mit rauen, schrecklichen Lauten zurück — unheilvolle Vorzeichen des kommenden Unheils.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual deduction for Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (frame assumed)
Scene: A sacrificial fire sputters and refuses to take the oblations; smoke curls back; around the ritual ground, donkeys bray in all directions under a darkened sky, startling the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas.
FAQs
When dharma declines, even sacred rites show obstruction; one should read the signs, become humble, and seek purification through rightful remedies.
The narrative context is moving toward Prabhāsa-kṣetra, the famed tīrtha on the western coast, as the remedy for impending misfortune.
No prescription is stated here directly; it presents portents (failed oblations and ominous sounds) that motivate later expiatory acts and pilgrimage.