Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 37
चलदलदललीलाचंचले जीवलोके तृणलवलघुसारे सर्वसंसारसौख्ये । अपहरति दुराशः शासनं ब्राह्मणानां नरकगहनगर्त्तावर्तपातोत्सुको यः
caladaladalalīlācaṃcale jīvaloke tṛṇalavalaghusāre sarvasaṃsārasaukhye | apaharati durāśaḥ śāsanaṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ narakagahanagarttāvartapātotsuko yaḥ
In dieser Welt der Lebenden—flackernd wie das Spiel zitternder Lotosblätter—wo alle Freuden des Saṃsāra so gering sind wie ein Grashalm, eilt jener von böser Begierde, der die schriftliche Schenkungsurkunde der Brāhmaṇas an sich reißt, gierig dem wirbelnden Sturz in die tiefe Grube der Hölle entgegen.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Scene: A poetic moral vision: shimmering lotus pond with trembling petals overlays a bustling human world; a greedy man snatches a copperplate grant from brāhmaṇas; beneath him opens a spiraling whirlpool leading into a dark, cavernous hell-pit.
FAQs
Worldly gain is fleeting; violating dharma by confiscating brāhmaṇa grants leads to grave karmic downfall.
No tīrtha is specified; the verse functions as a moral-theological warning within the Dharmāraṇya discourse.
It implies a prohibition: do not seize or invalidate brāhmaṇa śāsanas (legal/religious land grants).