Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
क्षारस्वादूदयोरेव यदासीज्जलदर्शनम् । प्रथिव्यां नरसंचारे वतर्माने क्वचित्क्वचित्
kṣārasvādūdayoreva yadāsījjaladarśanam | prathivyāṃ narasaṃcāre vatarmāne kvacitkvacit
Quand sur la terre, au milieu des errances des hommes, l’eau ne se voyait plus que par endroits—ici ou là—et seulement tantôt salée, tantôt douce—(la pénurie d’eau devenait manifeste).
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (implied as antidote to scarcity)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Travelers scattered across a vast plain, finding only occasional pools—some brackish, some sweet—testing and tasting water; the sense of ‘here and there’ rarity dominates the composition.
FAQs
Worldly supports become scarce and unreliable; therefore one should turn to the enduring spiritual support of a liberating tīrtha and steady dharmic practice.
The chapter context is the glorification of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the supreme kṣetra, contrasted with hardship elsewhere.
No direct prescription; the verse sets the scene of scarcity that affects daily and ritual life.