Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14
न कश्चिद्यजनं चक्रे न स्वाध्यायं न च व्रतम् । एवमालोक्यते व्योम वृष्ट्यर्थं क्षुत्समाकुलैः
na kaścidyajanaṃ cakre na svādhyāyaṃ na ca vratam | evamālokyate vyoma vṛṣṭyarthaṃ kṣutsamākulaiḥ
Nul n'accomplissait de sacrifice, ni d'étude sacrée, ni de vœu. Tourmentés par la faim, les gens scrutaient le ciel, espérant la pluie.
Skanda (deduced; Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Emaciated villagers with upturned faces, hands shading eyes as they scan a cloudless sky; abandoned yajña-vedi overgrown with dust; cold hearths and empty granaries.
FAQs
When spiritual disciplines (yajña, svādhyāya, vrata) are abandoned, people fall into helplessness; the text implies that dharmic practice sustains both inner and outer order.
No particular site is named; the verse supports the larger tīrtha-centered narrative by showing the consequences of dharma’s absence.
It references yajña (sacrifice), svādhyāya (scriptural recitation), and vrata (vowed observances), noting their absence rather than prescribing a specific rite.