Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 47
वेदबाह्याः प्रनष्टास्ते उत्तमाधममध्यमाः । षट्त्रिंशच्च सहस्राणि येऽभूवन्गोभुजाः पुरा
vedabāhyāḥ pranaṣṭāste uttamādhamamadhyamāḥ | ṣaṭtriṃśacca sahasrāṇi ye'bhūvangobhujāḥ purā
വേദമാർഗ്ഗത്തിന് പുറത്തേക്ക് വഴിതെറ്റി നശിച്ചവർ—ഉത്തമർ, അധമർ, മധ്യമർ എന്നിങ്ങനെ—പുരാതനകാലത്ത് മുപ്പത്താറായിരം പേർ ഗോമേച്ചരന്മാരായി ഉണ്ടായിരിന്നു।
Unknown (narrative voice within Brāhma Khaṇḍa; likely Sūta-style narration)
Scene: A large group of people portrayed as rustic cowherds, with a subtle aura of loss—broken ritual implements, neglected fires—suggesting a community that has drifted from Vedic order.
FAQs
Leaving Vedic dharma (right conduct and sacred order) leads to decline, regardless of one’s social rank.
The immediate focus is not a single tīrtha but the Dharmāraṇya setting and its dharma-centered narrative frame.
No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it sets a moral-historical context.