Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61
वर्षंति जलदाः कामं भवन्त्योषधयोऽखिलाः । यत्किंचिद्भूतले ज्ञानं शास्त्रं वा सुरसत्तम । तत्तत्र समभावेन न सत्यं नैव चानृतम्
varṣaṃti jaladāḥ kāmaṃ bhavantyoṣadhayo'khilāḥ | yatkiṃcidbhūtale jñānaṃ śāstraṃ vā surasattama | tattatra samabhāvena na satyaṃ naiva cānṛtam
Awan menurunkan hujan sesuai kehendak, dan segala tumbuhan obat pun tumbuh sempurna. Wahai yang termulia di antara para dewa, pengetahuan atau śāstra apa pun yang ada di bumi—di sana, dalam keseimbangan yang sama, ia tidak sepenuhnya benar dan tidak pula sepenuhnya tidak benar.
Skanda (deduced)
Listener: surasattama / surādhīśa (best/lord of the gods—typically Indra in such address)
Scene: A cosmic tableau: monsoon clouds releasing measured rain over a verdant earth of medicinal herbs, while sages debate in a hall where scrolls and śāstras glow with mixed light—half luminous, half shadowed—signifying ‘neither true nor untrue’.
FAQs
It characterizes Dvāpara as balanced and mixed: nature can still be favorable, yet knowledge and discourse are no longer purely aligned with truth.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the chapter’s broader māhātmya discourse through yuga characterization.
None explicitly; the focus is on cosmological and epistemic conditions rather than ritual action.