Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48
अर्थार्थी जीवलोकोऽयं श्मशानमपि सेवते । जनितारमपि त्यक्त्वा निःस्वः संयाति दूरतः
arthārthī jīvaloko'yaṃ śmaśānamapi sevate | janitāramapi tyaktvā niḥsvaḥ saṃyāti dūrataḥ
ധനാർത്ഥിയായ ഈ ജീവലോകം ശ്മശാനത്തെയും സേവിക്കുന്നു; മനുഷ്യൻ നിസ്സ്വനായാൽ ജനിതാവിനെയും ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് ദൂരെയ്ക്ക് പോകുന്നു.
Kṣatriya (narrative context within Nāgarakhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Śmaśāna (generic, symbolic)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A figure driven by greed walks toward a cremation-ground with jackals and funeral smoke; in contrast, a penniless person departs alone, leaving even parents behind—impermanence and social abandonment are central.
FAQs
Greed for wealth can push people toward impure or fearful places and can corrode family bonds; therefore one should seek artha only within dharma.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as moral instruction within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative setting.
None; it is a cautionary statement about conduct driven by wealth-seeking.