Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23
संख्याहीनस्तथा कोशस्तादृङ्मे बहुरत्नभाक् । कस्य यास्यति संभोगं मया हीनस्तु रक्षितः
saṃkhyāhīnastathā kośastādṛṅme bahuratnabhāk | kasya yāsyati saṃbhogaṃ mayā hīnastu rakṣitaḥ
आणि माझा कोशही—अनेक रत्नांनी परिपूर्ण—संख्येने कमी होईल; माझ्याविना तो कोणाच्या रक्षणाखाली सुखभोग व सुरक्षितता मिळवील?
Unnamed king (rājā) lamenting consequences of a curse (śāpa)
Scene: A jewel-filled treasury chamber imagined as fading—chests half-open, gems dimmed—while the king worries about protection and enjoyment without his guardianship.
FAQs
Wealth is unstable and dependent on righteous protection; without dharmic leadership, prosperity declines.
No specific tīrtha is explicitly named in this verse; it supports the surrounding tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.
None; the verse focuses on the king’s anxiety over protection and decline of resources.