Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 76
राज्ञश्च तारकस्यापि दर्शयिष्यथ किं मुखम् । विरतानां रणाच्चासौ क्रुद्धः प्राणान्हरिष्यति
rājñaśca tārakasyāpi darśayiṣyatha kiṃ mukham | viratānāṃ raṇāccāsau kruddhaḥ prāṇānhariṣyati
And what face will you show to King Tāraka? If you withdraw from the battlefield, he—angered—will take away your very lives.
Sūta narrating a daitya’s warning to fellow daityas (deduced)
Scene: A commander’s harsh admonition on the battlefield: warriors hesitate, and the speaker warns that the enemy-king Tāraka will slaughter deserters; banners, weapons, and tense faces under a cold, dim sky.
FAQs
Actions have consequences: abandoning one’s duty invites both inner downfall and external punishment.
None; the verse is within the mythic war account connected to Tāraka’s forces.
None.