Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 77
याति मज्जेदधौ पंके गोमये वा न जीवति । केशांगारैस्तथा भस्मभुजंगैर्निजलां नदीम्
yāti majjedadhau paṃke gomaye vā na jīvati | keśāṃgāraistathā bhasmabhujaṃgairnijalāṃ nadīm
If, in a dream, a person goes and sinks into curd, into mire, or into cow-dung, he does not survive. Likewise, if he beholds a river whose water is not truly water—filled with hair, embers, and serpents made of ash—this too is a sign of death.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration style)
Scene: A nightmare sequence: the dreamer sinks into curd, mire, or cow-dung; then beholds a river whose ‘water’ is hair, glowing embers, and ash-formed serpents—an anti-sacred river vision.
FAQs
Dreams reflecting impurity, inversion of nature, and dread imagery are presented as warnings—encouraging vigilance, repentance, and renewed dharmic living.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it belongs to a broader Purāṇic discussion of omens (ariṣṭa).
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse functions as a diagnostic omen-description rather than a vrata or dāna instruction.