Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 92
स्वस्वभावविहीनानि हीनानि च तथा जलैः । कुत्सिता मंत्रवादा ये कुत्सिताश्च तपस्विनः
svasvabhāvavihīnāni hīnāni ca tathā jalaiḥ | kutsitā maṃtravādā ye kutsitāśca tapasvinaḥ
त्या युगात लोक स्वस्वभाव व अंतःसंयम हरपतील; पाण्यातही शुद्धता कमी होईल. मंत्रांचा धंदा करणारे नीच होतील आणि तपस्वीही निंद्य ठरतील.
Bṛhaspati
Type: kshetra
Scene: A marketplace-like ghat where ‘mantra-sellers’ bargain; ascetics appear disheveled and quarrelsome; water jars look tainted; a sage’s gaze is sorrowful as he describes the loss of svabhāva.
FAQs
When dharma declines, even sacred disciplines (mantra and tapas) can be misused; inner character is the true measure of spiritual life.
This verse functions as yuga-dharma teaching within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; no single tirtha is explicitly named in the verse.
No direct ritual is prescribed; it warns against degraded mantra-trade and loss of purity.