Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20
क्रूराक्षः क्रूरबुद्धिश्च राक्षसौ बलवत्तरौ । यज्ञविघ्नाय संप्राप्तौ संप्राप्ते रजनीमुखे
krūrākṣaḥ krūrabuddhiśca rākṣasau balavattarau | yajñavighnāya saṃprāptau saṃprāpte rajanīmukhe
À l’approche de la nuit, deux rākṣasas d’une puissance extrême—Krūrākṣa et Krūrabuddhi—vinrent avec l’intention d’entraver le sacrifice.
Deductive (narratorial voice within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; explicit speaker not in snippet)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At dusk, two formidable rākṣasas with terrifying eyes and harsh expressions approach the glowing yajña fires, their silhouettes cutting into the twilight as they plot obstruction.
FAQs
Dharma is tested at liminal times (like dusk), and sacred rites require vigilant protection against forces that thrive on disruption.
This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya framework; the snippet itself does not name the tīrtha, but the surrounding adhyāya context is a tīrtha-centered yajña narrative.
No direct prescription (snāna/dāna/japa) is stated here; it introduces the threat to a yajña (sacrificial rite).