Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17
क्षीयमाणे च सद्धर्मे विधर्मे प्रबले तथा । नष्टधर्मक्रियायोगे वेदवादबहिष्कृते । एकपादे स्थिते धर्मे वर्णाश्रमविवर्जिते
kṣīyamāṇe ca saddharme vidharme prabale tathā | naṣṭadharmakriyāyoge vedavādabahiṣkṛte | ekapāde sthite dharme varṇāśramavivarjite
When true dharma wanes and anti-dharma grows strong; when the disciplined practice of righteous rites is lost and the authority of Vedic teaching is cast aside; when dharma stands only on a single foot and society is cut off from the order of varṇa and āśrama—then the world enters a grievous decline.
Narrator (contextual; sages’ deliberation is being described)
Tirtha: Dvārakā (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Allegory of dharma as a bull with only one leg remaining; broken sacrificial implements; a scroll of Veda pushed aside; society in disarray while a distant temple-lamp still burns.
FAQs
It warns that neglect of Vedic wisdom and disciplined dharmic conduct leads to social and spiritual collapse, urging seekers to preserve authentic dharma.
This verse sets the Kali-yuga context; the surrounding Dvārakā-māhātmya frames the remedy through devotion connected with Dvārakā and Viṣṇu.
No specific rite is prescribed here; it describes the loss of dharma-kriyā (proper religious practice) as a symptom of Kali-yuga.