Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 48
सोपसर्गं निजं देशं त्यक्त्वा योन्यत्र न व्रजेत् । स पंगुर्नाशमाप्नोति कूलस्थित इव द्रुमः
sopasargaṃ nijaṃ deśaṃ tyaktvā yonyatra na vrajet | sa paṃgurnāśamāpnoti kūlasthita iva drumaḥ
जो अपने देश को विपत्ति से घिरा देखकर छोड़ तो देता है, पर कहीं और नहीं जाता, वह लंगड़े-सा होकर नष्ट हो जाता है—जैसे कटते तट पर खड़ा वृक्ष।
Pārāvatī (female pigeon) to her mate (pārāvata) within Skanda’s narration to Agastya
Tirtha: Gaṅgā in Kāśī (contextual)
Type: river
Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame, typical)
Scene: A vivid metaphor: a tree stands on a crumbling riverbank, roots exposed as the current eats away the soil—symbolizing the ‘crippled’ one who neither stays safely nor goes elsewhere.
FAQs
Half-measures in the face of danger lead to downfall; dharma requires clarity, decisive action, and timely movement toward safety.
The teaching occurs within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s Kāśī-māhātmya context, though no particular tīrtha is named in this verse.
None; it offers a moral analogy rather than a rite.