Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
अस्थिशेषा निरुत्साहास्त्यक्तधर्मव्रतक्रियाः । अभक्ष्यभक्षणपरास्तथैवापेयपायिनः
asthiśeṣā nirutsāhāstyaktadharmavratakriyāḥ | abhakṣyabhakṣaṇaparāstathaivāpeyapāyinaḥ
ते केवळ अस्थिशेष उरले, उत्साहहीन झाले आणि धर्म, व्रत व नित्यकर्म सोडून दिले. ते अभक्ष्य खाऊ लागले आणि अपेयही पिऊ लागले.
Sūta (continuing narration)
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Emaciated people with sunken cheeks, listless posture; scenes of taboo food/drink taken in desperation; abandoned ritual fires cold and ash-covered in the background.
FAQs
When survival pressures rise, dharma can erode—hence Purāṇas emphasize refuges (tīrthas, vows, rites) that restore order and purity.
Not named in this verse; it continues the adhyāya’s backstory leading to the Saptarṣi-tīrtha’s prominence.
Implicitly warns against abandoning vrata and kriyā and against consuming abhakṣya/āpeya; it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.