Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29
क्रव्यादा एव सर्वेषु नगरेषु पुरेषु च । आसन्नभ्रंलिहो वृक्षाः सर्वत्र क्षोणिमंडले
kravyādā eva sarveṣu nagareṣu pureṣu ca | āsannabhraṃliho vṛkṣāḥ sarvatra kṣoṇimaṃḍale
Di setiap kota dan permukiman, yang tersisa hanyalah para pemakan daging yang buas. Dan di segenap lingkar bumi, pepohonan berdiri seakan menjilat awan—menjulang namun kurus kering.
Skanda
Listener: Agastya
Scene: A haunting cityscape: empty streets with lurking flesh-eaters; skeletal tall trees reaching into low clouds as if ‘licking’ them; a dim, dust-laden sky over a silent earth.
FAQs
When sustenance and dharma collapse, predatory behavior dominates—showing how societal ethics depend upon cosmic and ritual balance.
No tīrtha is named here; it intensifies the world-crisis that frames Kāśī’s saving sanctity later in the chapter.
None directly; the verse depicts conditions that arise when yajña and order diminish.