Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 1
लोमश उवाच । विष्णौ गते तदा सर्वे देवाश्च ऋषिभिः सह । विनिर्जिता गणैः सर्वे ये च यज्ञोपजीविनः
lomaśa uvāca | viṣṇau gate tadā sarve devāśca ṛṣibhiḥ saha | vinirjitā gaṇaiḥ sarve ye ca yajñopajīvinaḥ
Dijo Lomaśa: Cuando Viṣṇu hubo partido, entonces todos los dioses, junto con los ṛṣis, fueron completamente vencidos por los gaṇas; y también todos los que vivían de los sacrificios.
Lomaśa
Scene: A sacrificial arena after Viṣṇu’s departure: devas and ṛṣis thrown into disarray as fierce gaṇas surge in, overturning the order of the yajña.
FAQs
Ritual power alone is not sovereign; when dharma is disrupted, even sacrificial institutions and their beneficiaries can be overturned.
Kedārakhaṇḍa frames the account within Kedāra’s sacred region, though this verse focuses on the aftermath of conflict.
No prescription is given; yajña is referenced sociologically (“those who live by sacrifice”), not as an instruction.