Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30
तेनेयं नगरी कृत्स्ना परं दुःखमुपागता । गुणैरस्य समाविष्टा नूनं मृत्युं प्रयास्यति
teneyaṃ nagarī kṛtsnā paraṃ duḥkhamupāgatā | guṇairasya samāviṣṭā nūnaṃ mṛtyuṃ prayāsyati
เพราะพระองค์นี้เอง นครทั้งสิ้นจึงตกอยู่ในทุกข์อันยิ่งใหญ่ ด้วยถูกผูกพันด้วยคุณความดีของพระองค์ ดูประหนึ่งว่าจะติดตามพระองค์ไปจนถึงความตายแน่แท้
Citizen/Man questioned by the kārpaṭika (continuing)
Listener: Kārpaṭika
Scene: A panoramic view of the city: citizens gathered in mourning, garlands drooping, closed marketplaces; the palace silhouette suggests the king’s impending death, while the crowd’s devotion is palpable.
FAQs
A righteous ruler’s bond with his people is moral and spiritual; his suffering reverberates through the whole kingdom.
The tīrtha is still implicit; the city’s grief motivates the saint’s instruction toward a curative sacred place.
None directly; the verse describes the social-dharmic context that necessitates a tīrtha remedy.