Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44
हेतुवादरता ये च भंडंविद्यापराश्च ये । तेते स्युर्भूमिपालस्य सदाऽभीष्टाः कलौ युगे
hetuvādaratā ye ca bhaṃḍaṃvidyāparāśca ye | tete syurbhūmipālasya sadā'bhīṣṭāḥ kalau yuge
مَن يلتذّ بالجدل العقليّ، ومَن ينصرف إلى الفنون العابثة والعلم المتكلَّف المتباهى به—فأولئك يكونون دائمًا موضع حظوةٍ لدى الملوك في عصر كالي.
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; deduced as a narrator describing Kali-yuga signs)
Scene: A royal court where the king favors flashy debaters and performers; true sages sit ignored at the margins. Scrolls of logic and ornate ‘arts’ are presented as gifts, while a simple śāstra manuscript remains unoffered—symbolizing misplaced patronage.
FAQs
It cautions that social prestige may shift toward mere rhetoric and entertainment; seekers should value wisdom rooted in dharma rather than display.
No tīrtha is named in this shloka; it is part of a wider tīrtha-māhātmya chapter’s moral framing.
None.