Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45
उच्छिष्टा याः प्रसर्पंति रमन्ते च स्वपंति च । तासां गर्भः समस्तानां युष्माकं भोज नाय वै
ucchiṣṭā yāḥ prasarpaṃti ramante ca svapaṃti ca | tāsāṃ garbhaḥ samastānāṃ yuṣmākaṃ bhoja nāya vai
Celles qui, souillées par des restes de nourriture, errent, se divertissent et dorment—tout embryon porté par chacune d’elles est, en vérité, destiné à être votre nourriture.
Unspecified (deduced: a narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya, instructing/declaring in a māhātmya context)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A household courtyard: a woman with remnants of food/uncleansed hands moving about; shadowy graha figures hovering near the womb area as symbolic threat; a water pot and cleansing space highlighted as remedy.
FAQs
It warns that ignoring purity (śauca) and indulging in careless conduct leads to severe, fearful consequences, reinforcing dharmic restraint.
The verse occurs within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya (a tīrtha-glorification unit), but this single shloka does not name a specific site.
An implicit prescription of śauca: avoid remaining in ucchiṣṭa/impure condition and maintain disciplined conduct.