Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 96
सर्वकृत्येषु दुःशीलाः ।सुयत्नेनापि रक्षिताः । निर्दयाश्चापि भूपालाः पीडयिष्यंति कर्षुकान्
sarvakṛtyeṣu duḥśīlāḥ |suyatnenāpi rakṣitāḥ | nirdayāścāpi bhūpālāḥ pīḍayiṣyaṃti karṣukān
Dans toute tâche, les gens seront de mauvaise conduite, même s’ils sont gardés et instruits avec grand soin. Et des rois sans compassion opprimeront les cultivateurs.
Bṛhaspati
Listener: Suraśreṣṭha (best among the gods; likely Indra or the assembled devas)
Scene: A bleak Kali-yuga tableau: anxious cultivators in fields, tax-collectors and harsh kings in the background; dharma personified as weakened, while a sage-like figure gestures in warning.
FAQs
When rajadharma collapses, society suffers most at its roots—those who sustain life through cultivation are harmed.
No specific tirtha is named in this verse.
None; it is a warning about the ethical duties of rulers and society.