Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41
शालकैर्बांधवाश्चैव ह्यसतीभिः कुलस्त्रियः । शूद्रास्तपस्विनश्चैव शूद्रा धर्मस्य सूचकाः
śālakairbāṃdhavāścaiva hyasatībhiḥ kulastriyaḥ | śūdrāstapasvinaścaiva śūdrā dharmasya sūcakāḥ
কলিযুগত কুলস্ত্ৰীসকল শালক (শ্বশুৰালয়ৰ আত্মীয়) আৰু অন্যান্য বাঁধৱৰ দ্বাৰা, আৰু অসতী আচৰণৰ লোকৰ দ্বাৰা ঘেৰাও হয়। শূদ্ৰসকল তপস্বীৰ বেশ ধৰে, আৰু ‘ধৰ্ম’ ক’ত কি—সেয়া সূচোৱা-নিৰ্ধাৰণ কৰোঁতাও শূদ্ৰই হয়।
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; deduced as a narrator describing Kali-yuga signs)
Scene: A street or assembly where false ascetics in saffron mingle with worldly crowds; a noble household woman appears encircled by intrusive relatives and morally dubious companions; a ‘dharma signpost’ is held by an unfit figure, symbolizing inverted authority.
FAQs
It warns that in Kali-yuga outward appearances and social authority can become unreliable measures of dharma; discernment and adherence to true dharma are essential.
This verse functions as a Kali-yuga description within the Tīrthamāhātmya setting; no single tīrtha is named in this shloka itself.
None directly; it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.
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