Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
अस्थिशेषा निरुत्साहास्त्यक्तधर्मव्रतक्रियाः । अभक्ष्यभक्षणपरास्तथैवापेयपायिनः
asthiśeṣā nirutsāhāstyaktadharmavratakriyāḥ | abhakṣyabhakṣaṇaparāstathaivāpeyapāyinaḥ
وہ ہڈیوں کا ڈھانچا بن گئے، بےہمت ہو گئے؛ انہوں نے دھرم، ورت اور رسومات ترک کر دیں۔ جو کھانے کے لائق نہ تھا وہ کھانے لگے، اور جو پینے کے لائق نہ تھا وہ پینے لگے۔
Sūta (continuing narration)
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Emaciated people with sunken cheeks, listless posture; scenes of taboo food/drink taken in desperation; abandoned ritual fires cold and ash-covered in the background.
FAQs
When survival pressures rise, dharma can erode—hence Purāṇas emphasize refuges (tīrthas, vows, rites) that restore order and purity.
Not named in this verse; it continues the adhyāya’s backstory leading to the Saptarṣi-tīrtha’s prominence.
Implicitly warns against abandoning vrata and kriyā and against consuming abhakṣya/āpeya; it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.