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

Im Kali-Zeitalter, o König, werden die Menschen verarmen. Dennoch werden sie hierher kommen — aus Gier nach Gold und auch, um die Gottheit zu schauen.

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.