Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27
अन्नहीनो दहेद्राष्ट्रं मन्त्रहीनस्तु ऋत्विजः । दातारं दक्षिणाहीनो नास्ति यज्ञसमो रिपुः
annahīno dahedrāṣṭraṃ mantrahīnastu ṛtvijaḥ | dātāraṃ dakṣiṇāhīno nāsti yajñasamo ripuḥ
अन्नहीन यज्ञ राष्ट्राला दग्ध करतो; मंत्रहीन ऋत्विज यज्ञाचा नाश करतो; आणि दक्षिणाहीनता दात्या-यजमानाला बाधते. दोषयुक्त यज्ञासारखा शत्रू नाही.
Rājā (the king) (continuing his concern about ritual defects)
Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A didactic tableau: the yajña pavilion with three symbolic lacks—empty grain baskets, a priest with closed/forgotten mantra scrolls, and an unoffered dakṣiṇā tray—while ominous smoke curls, suggesting the rite turning hostile.
FAQs
Sacred actions must be complete and properly supported; negligence in yajña becomes self-destructive, harming society and the patron.
No single tīrtha is named; the verse is a dharma-warning within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative setting.
Ensure sufficiency of anna (offerings/food), correctness of mantras, and due dakṣiṇā to priests to prevent ritual ‘harm’.