Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 90
एतस्मिन्नंतरे मर्त्ये नष्टा धर्मस्य च क्रिया । यज्ञदानकृता या च देवार्चनसमुद्भवा
etasminnaṃtare martye naṣṭā dharmasya ca kriyā | yajñadānakṛtā yā ca devārcanasamudbhavā
Dalam masa itu, di kalangan manusia, amalan dharma pun lenyap. Perbuatan yang lahir daripada yajña dan dāna, serta yang timbul daripada pemujaan para dewa, turut merosot.
Purāṇic narrator
Scene: A contrast tableau: abandoned yajña-vedi with cold ashes, neglected charity hall, and a quiet temple with dim lamps—signifying dharma’s fading among humans. In the distance, a tīrtha still shines as a refuge.
FAQs
When formal religious practices decline, Purāṇic texts highlight accessible paths—like tīrtha devotion—as sustaining dharma.
The verse shifts to a broader moral setting; it frames the tīrtha’s importance against a backdrop of dharma’s decline in the same Adhyāya 198.
It references (as disappearing) the classic dharma-kriyās: yajña (sacrifice), dāna (charity), and deva-arcana (deity worship).