Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22
को वा भवाब्धौ पततस्तारयिष्यति संगतान् । न कलौ संभवस्तस्य त्रियुगो मधुसूदनः । तं विना पुंडरीकाक्षं कथं स्याम कलौ युगे
ko vā bhavābdhau patatastārayiṣyati saṃgatān | na kalau saṃbhavastasya triyugo madhusūdanaḥ | taṃ vinā puṃḍarīkākṣaṃ kathaṃ syāma kalau yuge
Who, then, will ferry us—fallen together into the ocean of becoming? In Kali, there is no manifest descent of that Madhusūdana who appears in three ages. Without that lotus-eyed Lord, how shall we endure in the age of Kali?
One of the assembled sages (lament in council; specific speaker not named)
Tirtha: Dvārakā (implied)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Sages gaze toward a vast ocean symbolizing saṃsāra; waves dark and high, their faces anxious; above, a faint, distant lotus-eyed Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa form appears like a memory, emphasizing avatāra-viraha in Kali.
FAQs
It expresses human helplessness in saṃsāra and the need for divine grace, especially when dharma is weak in Kali-yuga.
The verse is theological; within Dvārakā-māhātmya it prepares the ground for seeking Viṣṇu’s saving presence tied to Dvārakā’s sanctity.
None directly; the focus is on deliverance and divine availability in Kali-yuga.