Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4
न वर्षंति यदाभ्राणि न प्रावर्तंत निम्रगाः । जलाभिलाषो न यदा स्नानपानादि कर्मणि
na varṣaṃti yadābhrāṇi na prāvartaṃta nimragāḥ | jalābhilāṣo na yadā snānapānādi karmaṇi
यदा मेघा न वर्षन्ति, न च नद्यः प्रवर्तन्ते; यदा स्नानपानादिकर्मसु जलाभिलाषोऽपि न भवति, तदा जगद् दुःखमापद्यते।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual frame)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A parched landscape under cloudless skies; cracked riverbeds; people with empty pots; ritual platforms abandoned for lack of water—setting a somber prelude to Kāśī’s promise.
FAQs
It portrays a breakdown of sustaining order—when nature and ritual support fail—preparing the mind to seek an unfailing refuge in the sacred kṣetra and in dharma.
The surrounding passage belongs to the Kāśī-kṣetra Māhātmya in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, pointing toward Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) as the liberating field.
Snāna (bathing) and pāna (drinking) are referenced as essential acts dependent on water; no specific vow is prescribed in this verse.