Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 16
किं ते शंखेन खङ्गेन किं ते मंत्रास्त्रविद्यया । किं च तेन प्रयत्नेन किं प्रभावेण भूयसा
kiṃ te śaṃkhena khaṅgena kiṃ te maṃtrāstravidyayā | kiṃ ca tena prayatnena kiṃ prabhāveṇa bhūyasā
What use to you are the conch and the sword? What use is your knowledge of mantras and weapon-lore? What use is all that effort—and what use is even great ‘power’—if it fails at the moment of need?
A grieving woman (queen/consort), continuing the rebuke of the king
Listener: राजा/वीर (implied)
Scene: Foreground: conch and sword placed unused; a learned warrior with mantra-scrolls looks helpless; the admonisher points to the futility of these at the crisis moment.
FAQs
Skills, mantras, and power are validated by dharmic application—especially protecting the vulnerable—rather than by possession alone.
No site is referenced; the verse is ethical and didactic.
None; it critiques performative strength and unused capability.