Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
ततो निर्वेदमापन्नो भेषजैः क्लेशितश्चिरम् । क्षारैश्चाम्लैः कषायैश्च कटुकैरथ तिक्तकैः
tato nirvedamāpanno bheṣajaiḥ kleśitaściram | kṣāraiścāmlaiḥ kaṣāyaiśca kaṭukairatha tiktakaiḥ
அப்போது அவன் மருந்துகளால் நீண்ட காலம் துன்புற்று—காரம், புளிப்பு, துவர்ப்பு, கார்ப்பு, கசப்பு ஆகிய சிகிச்சைகளால் வாடி—ஆழ்ந்த நிர்வேதம் அடைந்தான்.
Narrator (within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya frame; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Scene: A suffering pilgrim, weary from harsh medicines—alkaline, sour, astringent, pungent, bitter—sits in contemplation, turning away from jars and powders toward the idea of a sacred journey.
FAQs
Worldly measures can exhaust the seeker; disillusionment becomes the doorway to taking refuge in sacred worship and tīrtha-centered devotion.
The verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya stream; the immediate passage leads toward Muṇḍīrasvāmin and Sūrya worship in that sacred setting.
No ritual is prescribed here; it describes the failure/strain of medicinal treatments that motivates a turn to devotional observance.