Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 25
यत्रयत्र महत्तीर्थं तत्रतत्र गता द्विजाः । उद्वसं तत्पुरं जातं तस्मिन्काले नृपोत्तम
yatrayatra mahattīrthaṃ tatratatra gatā dvijāḥ | udvasaṃ tatpuraṃ jātaṃ tasminkāle nṛpottama
Partout où se trouvait un grand tīrtha, là se rendaient les dvijas ; et en ce temps-là, ô meilleur des rois, cette cité devint déserte.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; addressing a king—listener not explicit in snippet)
Tirtha: Mahā-tīrthas (generic)
Type: tirtha
Listener: nṛpoत्तम (best of kings)
Scene: Brahmins traveling with bundles and waterpots toward distant river fords and shrines; behind them, an empty city with closed doors and silent streets; the king is addressed as witness to the desolation.
FAQs
Great tīrthas serve as refuges for dharma-bearers; when a place loses safety for worship, its prosperity and sanctity-in-practice diminish.
Dharmāraṇya is the narrative center, while “great tīrthas” are invoked as the wider sacred geography to which the dvijas resort.
None; it explains relocation toward tīrthas as a response to sustained vighna.