Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
विना स्नानेन भक्षाच्च दैवाद्द्विजवरोत्तमाः । ततः काले व्यतिक्रांते कियन्मात्रे स्वकर्मतः । उभौ पंचत्वमापन्नौ पृथक्त्वेनायुषः क्षये
vinā snānena bhakṣācca daivāddvijavarottamāḥ | tataḥ kāle vyatikrāṃte kiyanmātre svakarmataḥ | ubhau paṃcatvamāpannau pṛthaktvenāyuṣaḥ kṣaye
Wahai yang terbaik di antara kaum dwija, tanpa mandi dan tanpa makan—demi takdir—setelah berlalu sedikit waktu, menurut karma masing-masing, kedua-duanya mencapai “pañcatva”, yakni kematian, secara berasingan, tatkala usia mereka telah habis.
Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style; vocative to dvijas suggests narration to sages/brāhmaṇas)
Listener: dvija-varottamāḥ (addressed audience of eminent brāhmaṇas)
Scene: Two individuals, weakened by fasting and lack of bathing, reach the end of life separately; the scene emphasizes the quiet inevitability of time and karma rather than violence.
FAQs
Even within sacred narratives, death is framed as karma-governed and time-bound; tīrtha-merit operates within the moral order (dharma) rather than denying mortality.
The verse belongs to a Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya episode about a potent tīrtha; the specific name is not present in this excerpt.
Snāna (bathing) and bhakṣa (taking food) are referenced negatively (‘without’), underscoring ascetic conditions around the episode rather than prescribing a rule here.