Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4
न वर्षंति यदाभ्राणि न प्रावर्तंत निम्रगाः । जलाभिलाषो न यदा स्नानपानादि कर्मणि
na varṣaṃti yadābhrāṇi na prāvartaṃta nimragāḥ | jalābhilāṣo na yadā snānapānādi karmaṇi
जब मेघ वर्षा नहीं करते और नदियाँ बहना छोड़ देती हैं—जब स्नान, पान आदि कर्मों के लिए भी जल की इच्छा तक नहीं रहती—तब जगत् घोर क्लेश में पड़ जाता है।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual frame)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A parched landscape under cloudless skies; cracked riverbeds; people with empty pots; ritual platforms abandoned for lack of water—setting a somber prelude to Kāśī’s promise.
FAQs
It portrays a breakdown of sustaining order—when nature and ritual support fail—preparing the mind to seek an unfailing refuge in the sacred kṣetra and in dharma.
The surrounding passage belongs to the Kāśī-kṣetra Māhātmya in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, pointing toward Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) as the liberating field.
Snāna (bathing) and pāna (drinking) are referenced as essential acts dependent on water; no specific vow is prescribed in this verse.