Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 86
पाखंडिनो विकर्मस्थाः परदारोपजीविनः । कार्यकारणमाश्रित्य यत्र स्नेहः प्रजायते
pākhaṃḍino vikarmasthāḥ paradāropajīvinaḥ | kāryakāraṇamāśritya yatra snehaḥ prajāyate
Hérétiques hypocrites, adonnés aux actes interdits, vivant des femmes d’autrui; et partout où ils s’appuieront sur un prétexte de « cause et dessein », là naîtra l’attachement.
Unknown (contextual narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Scene: A darkened town scene: false ascetics and hypocrites in religious garb, clandestine immoral acts, and people forming attachments under the guise of ‘duty’ or ‘cause’; a distant temple silhouette as the silent witness.
FAQs
It condemns hypocrisy and immoral livelihoods, warning that adharma can masquerade as ‘purpose’ even in religious environments.
No particular tīrtha is named; the verse is part of a broader Kali-yuga critique within Tīrthamāhātmya.
None; it is an ethical denunciation rather than a ritual instruction.