Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15
यथामिषं जले मत्स्यैर्भक्ष्यते श्वापदैर्भुवि । आकाशे पक्षिभिश्चैव तथा सर्वत्र वित्तवान्
yathāmiṣaṃ jale matsyairbhakṣyate śvāpadairbhuvi | ākāśe pakṣibhiścaiva tathā sarvatra vittavān
De même que l’appât dans l’eau est dévoré par les poissons, sur la terre par les bêtes et dans le ciel par les oiseaux, ainsi partout l’homme riche devient une proie.
An unnamed renunciate/narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya (moral illustration)
Scene: Triptych-like allegory: fish snapping at bait in water; beasts seizing bait on land; birds diving for bait in sky; central overlay: a wealthy person surrounded by grasping hands/figures.
FAQs
Wealth attracts exploitation and danger from every side; safety lies in non-attachment and discernment.
The verse supports the chapter’s moral instruction within Tīrthamāhātmya; no specific tirtha is named here.
None; it is a warning through metaphor, encouraging vairāgya rather than a formal rite.