Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
विना स्नानेन भक्षाच्च दैवाद्द्विजवरोत्तमाः । ततः काले व्यतिक्रांते कियन्मात्रे स्वकर्मतः । उभौ पंचत्वमापन्नौ पृथक्त्वेनायुषः क्षये
vinā snānena bhakṣācca daivāddvijavarottamāḥ | tataḥ kāle vyatikrāṃte kiyanmātre svakarmataḥ | ubhau paṃcatvamāpannau pṛthaktvenāyuṣaḥ kṣaye
Ô les plus éminents des deux-fois-nés, sans bain ni nourriture—par décret du destin—lorsqu’un certain temps se fut écoulé, selon leur propre karma, tous deux atteignirent le «terme quintuple», la mort, séparément, quand leur durée de vie fut épuisée.
Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style; vocative to dvijas suggests narration to sages/brāhmaṇas)
Listener: dvija-varottamāḥ (addressed audience of eminent brāhmaṇas)
Scene: Two individuals, weakened by fasting and lack of bathing, reach the end of life separately; the scene emphasizes the quiet inevitability of time and karma rather than violence.
FAQs
Even within sacred narratives, death is framed as karma-governed and time-bound; tīrtha-merit operates within the moral order (dharma) rather than denying mortality.
The verse belongs to a Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya episode about a potent tīrtha; the specific name is not present in this excerpt.
Snāna (bathing) and bhakṣa (taking food) are referenced negatively (‘without’), underscoring ascetic conditions around the episode rather than prescribing a rule here.