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
Qui donc nous fera traverser—nous qui sommes tombés ensemble dans l’océan du devenir ? En Kali, il n’y a pas de descente manifeste de Madhusūdana, qui se révèle en trois âges. Sans ce Seigneur aux yeux de lotus, comment subsister en l’âge de 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.