Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 196
चोरैरुपहता लोका व्याधिभिः परिपीडिताः । त्रातारं नाभि गच्छंति युद्धावस्थां गता अपि
corairupahatā lokā vyādhibhiḥ paripīḍitāḥ | trātāraṃ nābhi gacchaṃti yuddhāvasthāṃ gatā api
Die Menschen werden von Dieben geschlagen und von Krankheiten gequält; selbst wenn sie in Krieg und Gefahr geraten, werden sie keinen Beschützer um Zuflucht bitten.
Unspecified (contextual narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa Māhātmya dialogue)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: a sage (muni)
Scene: A troubled town: thieves in alleys, sickbeds in homes; soldiers preparing for war; anxious people turning away from a visible protector figure/temple gate, symbolizing refusal of refuge.
FAQs
In adharma-heavy times, confusion makes people avoid true refuge; the Purāṇic remedy is to seek righteous protectors, deities, and sacred places.
Not named in this verse; it supports the broader Prabhāsa/Vastrāpatha Māhātmya theme of taking shelter in tīrthas.
None directly; the implied prescription is śaraṇāgati—seeking refuge in dharma and the divine.