Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
पलायनपरा ये च पृष्ठदेशे हता मृताः
palāyanaparā ye ca pṛṣṭhadeśe hatā mṛtāḥ
And those who were intent on fleeing, who were struck down and died with wounds to the back…
Viṣṇu (contextual continuation)
Tirtha: Gayā (contextual, by continuity)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A brief, poignant battlefield vignette: warriors in retreat, one struck from behind, evoking fear and tragedy rather than glory; the scene serves as a moral-emotional counterpoint to heroic death.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma distinguishes deaths by intention and circumstance; fleeing in battle is morally and ritually evaluated differently.
No site is named in this half-verse; the surrounding discourse includes Gayā and the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya frame.
No explicit prescription appears in this fragment; it introduces a category relevant to later śrāddha rules.
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