Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15
रात्रौ स्वपंति मुनयः सुखशय्यागताश्च ते । प्रभाते त्वध्वरे तेषामस्थिसंघाश्च केवलम्
rātrau svapaṃti munayaḥ sukhaśayyāgatāśca te | prabhāte tvadhvare teṣāmasthisaṃghāśca kevalam
La nuit, les sages dormaient, étendus sur des couches confortables ; mais à l’aube, sur leur adhvara, l’aire du sacrifice, il ne restait d’eux que des amas d’ossements.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)
Tirtha: Adhvara-bhūmi (yajña-sthāna) within Prabhāsa narrative
Type: ghat
Scene: Two-part scene: (1) night—sages asleep on neat beds near the yajña enclosure; (2) dawn—empty altar area with heaps of bones, broken garlands, overturned ladles, pale sunrise revealing horror.
FAQs
External comfort cannot protect dharma by itself; when adharma is unchecked, even sacred spaces and holy people become vulnerable.
The episode is narrated within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, tied to the sanctity and trials around Prabhāsa.
The verse references the adhvara (sacrificial rite/ground) but gives no direct prescription—its focus is the destruction of practitioners.