Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50
द्यूतकारे यथा सत्यं यथा चौरं च सौहृदम् । यथा नृपस्य नो मित्रं तथा लज्जा न कामिनाम्
dyūtakāre yathā satyaṃ yathā cauraṃ ca sauhṛdam | yathā nṛpasya no mitraṃ tathā lajjā na kāminām
De même que la vérité manque au joueur, que l’amitié manque au voleur, et que le roi n’a point d’ami véritable—ainsi la pudeur manque à ceux que la convoitise entraîne.
Unspecified (contextual speaker within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya dialogue)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Triptych of similes: (1) a dice game with deceitful faces, (2) a thief slipping away while companions distrust him, (3) a king on throne surrounded by wary courtiers; culminating panel shows a lust-driven person acting without shame near a shrine.
FAQs
Desire erodes moral safeguards like modesty; the verse uses nīti-style comparisons to warn against habitual vice.
No tīrtha is directly referenced in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-māhātmya theme by stressing ethical eligibility.
None; it is a didactic statement about character and self-control.