Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
ततस्तैः पतितो भूमौ दृष्टो मृतकुमारकः । मंत्रयित्वा मिथः पश्चाद्गृहीतो भक्षणाय च
tatastaiḥ patito bhūmau dṛṣṭo mṛtakumārakaḥ | maṃtrayitvā mithaḥ paścādgṛhīto bhakṣaṇāya ca
அப்போது அவர்கள் தரையில் விழுந்திருந்த இறந்த சிறுவனை கண்டனர். தங்களுக்குள் ஆலோசித்து, பின்னர் அவனை—even உண்ணுவதற்காகவும்—எடுத்து சென்றனர்.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; unspecified in snippet)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A group of starving ascetics/wayfarers discover a lifeless boy on the ground; after whispered consultation, they lift the body with grim intent.
FAQs
Hunger can drive even the learned toward adharma; Purāṇas frame such moments to teach repentance, restraint, and the path back to purity.
Not named in this verse; it is part of the moral-plot that later supports the tīrtha’s purifying greatness.
Not here; later verses introduce prāyaścitta (expiation) and corrective conduct.