Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 50
स्वभाव एव क्रूराणां नास्तिकानां दुरात्मनाम् । आत्मानं पातयंत्येव पातयंत्यपरं च यत्
svabhāva eva krūrāṇāṃ nāstikānāṃ durātmanām | ātmānaṃ pātayaṃtyeva pātayaṃtyaparaṃ ca yat
This is simply the nature of the cruel—of unbelievers with wicked hearts—that they bring about their own downfall and drag down others as well.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)
Scene: Allegorical image: a cruel man cuts the branch he sits on while also pulling another person down; dharma is depicted as a steady tree, adharma as an axe that rebounds.
FAQs
Cruelty and denial of dharma are self-destructive and socially destructive; such traits cause one’s fall and harm others.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse delivers a general dharmic maxim within the narrative.
None; it functions as a moral warning about character and consequence.