Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 27
अचेतनश्चेतनावान्मूर्खो विद्वानपि स्फुटम् । तदा भवति भूपाल पुरुषः क्षणमात्रतः
acetanaścetanāvānmūrkho vidvānapi sphuṭam | tadā bhavati bhūpāla puruṣaḥ kṣaṇamātrataḥ
ഹേ ഭൂപാലാ! അപ്പോൾ മനുഷ്യൻ ക്ഷണമാത്രത്തിൽ തന്നെ—ചേതനയുണ്ടായിട്ടും അചേതനനെന്നപോലെ, വിദ്യാവാനായിട്ടും വ്യക്തമായി മൂഢനെന്നപോലെ ആകുന്നു.
Unspecified narrator (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa discourse, likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)
Listener: Bhūpāla (king)
Scene: A sudden transformation motif: a learned man with manuscripts and sacred thread is shown, and in the next instant his face becomes vacant and confused—time-slice storytelling before a king.
FAQs
Moral collapse can be sudden: temptation can overturn clarity, making the wise act like fools.
No tīrtha is mentioned; this is counsel on inner discipline.
None directly; the implied practice is vigilance and restraint (self-control).