Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21
ततो निर्वेदमापन्नो भेषजैः क्लेशितश्चिरम् । क्षारैश्चाम्लैः कषायैश्च कटुकैरथ तिक्तकैः
tato nirvedamāpanno bheṣajaiḥ kleśitaściram | kṣāraiścāmlaiḥ kaṣāyaiśca kaṭukairatha tiktakaiḥ
Rồi ta sinh chán nản sâu xa, vì đã lâu bị hành hạ bởi thuốc thang—nào là vị kiềm, vị chua, vị chát, vị cay và vị đắng—nên lòng dứt khỏi những phương thuốc thường tình.
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.