Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41
शालकैर्बांधवाश्चैव ह्यसतीभिः कुलस्त्रियः । शूद्रास्तपस्विनश्चैव शूद्रा धर्मस्य सूचकाः
śālakairbāṃdhavāścaiva hyasatībhiḥ kulastriyaḥ | śūdrāstapasvinaścaiva śūdrā dharmasya sūcakāḥ
Im Kali-Zeitalter werden Frauen aus edlen Häusern von Schwägerverwandtschaft und Beziehungen umringt, ebenso von Menschen unkeuschen Wandels. Selbst Śūdras nehmen die Gestalt von Asketen an, und Śūdras werden zu denen, die „anzeigen“ und bestimmen, was man Dharma nennt.
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.