Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 56
न कश्चित्पुरुषस्तेषां सम्मुखोऽप्यभवद्रणे । किं पुनः सहसा योद्धुं भयेन महतान्वितः
na kaścitpuruṣasteṣāṃ sammukho'pyabhavadraṇe | kiṃ punaḥ sahasā yoddhuṃ bhayena mahatānvitaḥ
میدانِ جنگ میں اُن میں سے کوئی مرد روبرو کھڑا بھی نہ رہ سکا؛ پھر شدید خوف میں گھِر کر اچانک کون لڑ سکتا تھا؟
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)
Scene: A battlefield where an army cannot hold the enemy’s gaze; warriors recoil, shields lowered, faces pale, dust and broken standards signaling a collapse of morale rather than mere tactical loss.
FAQs
Adharma weakens inner strength; when conscience and merit fall away, courage collapses even before a righteous counter-force.
Not identified in this verse; the chapter as a whole belongs to a tīrtha-māhātmya setting.
None.