Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20
अर्थार्थी जीव लोकोऽयं स्मशानमपि सेवते । जनितारमपि त्यक्त्वा निःस्वं यांति सुता अपि
arthārthī jīva loko'yaṃ smaśānamapi sevate | janitāramapi tyaktvā niḥsvaṃ yāṃti sutā api
Diese lebendige Welt, nach Reichtum gierend, sucht sogar die Verbrennungsstätten auf. Selbst die Söhne verlassen den eigenen Vater und gehen fort von dem, der mittellos geworden ist.
An unnamed renunciate/narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya
Type: kshetra
Scene: A crowd searching for wealth in a cremation ground—scavenging, bargaining—while a penniless old father sits abandoned; sons walk away; in the distance a pilgrim lights a lamp and prays, symbolizing dharma as refuge.
FAQs
When relationships depend on money, they collapse with poverty; therefore one should seek refuge in dharma, not in artha.
No named tirtha appears in this verse; the cremation ground is used as an image of how far greed can drive people.
None; it is a social-spiritual admonition about greed and the unreliability of wealth-based bonds.