Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
किं करोमि क्व गच्छामि कथं स्याद्दर्शनं मम । एताभ्यामपि वृद्धाभ्यां पत्न्याश्चैव विशेषतः
kiṃ karomi kva gacchāmi kathaṃ syāddarśanaṃ mama | etābhyāmapi vṛddhābhyāṃ patnyāścaiva viśeṣataḥ
അവൻ ചിന്തിച്ചു—“ഞാൻ എന്ത് ചെയ്യും? എവിടെ പോകും? എങ്ങനെ ജീവിക്കാം—പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ഈ രണ്ടു വൃദ്ധർക്കായി, അതിലുപരി എന്റെ ഭാര്യയ്ക്കായി?”
Narrator reporting the man’s inner speech (specific speaker not stated in the provided excerpt)
Scene: Lohajaṅgha alone at dusk on a barren path, hands raised in helpless questioning; behind him faint silhouettes of his hut and family; ahead, an uncertain road toward wilderness/tīrtha.
FAQs
Worldly anxiety arises when dharma-supporting livelihood collapses; the Purāṇas often use this to pivot toward repentance, satsanga, and tīrtha.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of the lead-in to a tīrtha-centered episode.
None; it is a lament and deliberation about duty and survival.