Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

भविष्यंति कलौ काले दरिद्रा नृपमानवाः । तेऽत्र स्वर्णस्य लोभेन देवतादर्शनाय च

Transliteration

bhaviṣyaṃti kalau kāle daridrā nṛpamānavāḥ | te'tra svarṇasya lobhena devatādarśanāya ca

Translation

في عصر كالي، أيها الملك، سيغدو الناس فقراء معدمين. ومع ذلك سيأتون إلى هنا—بدافع الطمع في الذهب، وأيضًا لطلب رؤية الإله (دارشَن).

Word by Word

• भविष्यन्ति: will be
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• कलौ: in Kali (age)
• कलौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• काले: in (that) time
• काले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• दरिद्राः: poor
• दरिद्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (नृपमानवाः)

• नृप-मानवाः: kings and people
• नृप-मानवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक) + मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (नृपाश्च मानवाश्च)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्वर्णस्य: of gold
• स्वर्णस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• लोभेन: due to greed
• लोभेन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• देवता-दर्शनाय: for seeing the deity
• देवता-दर्शनाय: Sampradana (Purpose/Dative/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवतायाः दर्शनम्)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Unspecified in excerpt

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu/Rāmeśvara tīrtha (atra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (royal addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A prophetic tableau of Kali-yuga pilgrims: poor travelers arriving with hope of finding gold, yet also with longing for divine darśana—two impulses in one journey.

Characters & Entities

• Kali-yuga
• Devatā (deity)
• Swarna (gold)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even when worldly motives arise in Kali-yuga, the act of approaching a tīrtha for darśana still indicates the enduring pull of sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘here’ points to the Setu-madhya/Rāmeśvara milieu described in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the verse forecasts pilgrim behavior and motives.