Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
अथ ते कुटिला दुष्टा भक्षयंति सदा जनान् । बहुत्वादपि संस्पर्शादपराधं विनापि च
atha te kuṭilā duṣṭā bhakṣayaṃti sadā janān | bahutvādapi saṃsparśādaparādhaṃ vināpi ca
அப்போது அந்த வஞ்சகமும் தீயதுமான பாம்புகள் எப்போதும் மக்களை விழுங்கத் தொடங்கின; மிகுந்த எண்ணிக்கையாலும் வெறும் தொடுதலாலுமே, மனிதர்க்கு குற்றம் இல்லாவிட்டாலும் கூட।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa context; exact speaker not explicit in the excerpt)
Scene: A terrified populace in a village/forest-edge as numerous serpents surge forth, striking indiscriminately; people flee with children while the ground seems alive with coils.
FAQs
Adharma is marked by harm done without cause; such disorder invites divine intervention to restore balance.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as narrative impetus within the Tīrthamāhātmya.
None; the verse describes suffering and injustice rather than prescribing a rite.