Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11
एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु समस्तं धरणीतलम् । नष्टयज्ञोत्सवं जातं कालेयभयपीडितम्
etasminneva kāle tu samastaṃ dharaṇītalam | naṣṭayajñotsavaṃ jātaṃ kāleyabhayapīḍitam
En ce même temps, toute la surface de la terre fut privée de la joie des fêtes du yajña, accablée par la peur des Kāleyas.
Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style; exact speaker not explicit in the single-verse snippet)
Scene: A darkened earth where yajña-vedīs lie cold and unlit; frightened towns and hermitages; distant shadowy Kāleya figures causing panic; abandoned sacrificial banners and silent fire-altars.
FAQs
When adharma and fear prevail, Vedic sacrifice and public dharmic life decline; the Purāṇic remedy is the re-establishment of dharma through devotion, protection of sacred rites, and recourse to tīrthas.
This verse sets a crisis backdrop within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the specific tīrtha is not named in this single śloka and is typically identified in the surrounding verses of Adhyāya 35.
No direct prescription (snāna, dāna, japa, or vrata) appears here; it only states that yajña-utsava (sacrificial observances) had ceased due to fear.