Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 72
तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रा महाव्याला व्याघ्रा यत्र महावृकाः । सुतप्ता वालुका यत्र क्षुधा तृष्णा तमो महत्
tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrā mahāvyālā vyāghrā yatra mahāvṛkāḥ | sutaptā vālukā yatra kṣudhā tṛṣṇā tamo mahat
അവിടെ ക്ഷുരധാര ദംഷ്ട്രകളുള്ള മഹാസർപ്പങ്ങളും, കടുവകളും, മഹാവൃക്കങ്ങളും ഉണ്ട്. അവിടത്തെ മണൽ കത്തുന്നത്ര ചൂടാണ്; വിശപ്പും ദാഹവും മഹത്തായ അന്ധകാരവും വ്യാപിക്കുന്നു.
Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration within Revā Khaṇḍa; specific speaker not stated in the snippet)
Scene: A bleak expanse of burning sand under a dim, oppressive sky; huge serpents rear up, tigers and wolves prowl; the sufferer is gaunt with hunger and thirst, engulfed by darkness.
FAQs
Adharma leads to suffering and terror; dharma is protection even beyond death.
No single tīrtha is praised in this verse; it depicts the frightening Yama-mārga as a warning to uphold dharma.
None is stated here; the verse functions as a moral-visual warning rather than a ritual instruction.