Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43
युद्धं विना दैत्यगणा हसंति मत्ताः प्रमत्ताः करिणो नदंति । रथाधिरूढाः पुरुषा भ्रमंति सेनाधिपा स्त्रीषु गृहे रमंति
yuddhaṃ vinā daityagaṇā hasaṃti mattāḥ pramattāḥ kariṇo nadaṃti | rathādhirūḍhāḥ puruṣā bhramaṃti senādhipā strīṣu gṛhe ramaṃti
« Sans guerre, les troupes de daityas rient ; les éléphants ivres et imprudents barrissent ; les hommes montés sur des chars errent çà et là ; et les chefs d’armée se complaisent au logis parmi les femmes. »
Nārada (contextual, narrative observation)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A contrast tableau: daityas laughing in a shadowed hall; elephants in musth trumpeting; charioteers roaming aimlessly; commanders reclining in inner chambers—an allegory of misdirected energies.
FAQs
Complacency breeds disorder—when vigilance declines, arrogance and indulgence rise.
Indirectly: the māhātmya’s narrative uses social order/decline themes while situated in Vastrāpathakṣetra (Prabhāsa).
None; the verse is descriptive and cautionary.