Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 92
स्वस्वभावविहीनानि हीनानि च तथा जलैः । कुत्सिता मंत्रवादा ये कुत्सिताश्च तपस्विनः
svasvabhāvavihīnāni hīnāni ca tathā jalaiḥ | kutsitā maṃtravādā ye kutsitāśca tapasvinaḥ
In jenem Zeitalter werden die Menschen ihrer wahren Natur und inneren Selbstzucht beraubt sein und an Reinheit verlieren—selbst in so Grundlegendem wie Wasser. Die mit Mantras Handel treiben, werden gemein, und sogar Asketen werden in Schande fallen.
Bṛhaspati
Type: kshetra
Scene: A marketplace-like ghat where ‘mantra-sellers’ bargain; ascetics appear disheveled and quarrelsome; water jars look tainted; a sage’s gaze is sorrowful as he describes the loss of svabhāva.
FAQs
When dharma declines, even sacred disciplines (mantra and tapas) can be misused; inner character is the true measure of spiritual life.
This verse functions as yuga-dharma teaching within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; no single tirtha is explicitly named in the verse.
No direct ritual is prescribed; it warns against degraded mantra-trade and loss of purity.