Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44
हेतुवादरता ये च भंडंविद्यापराश्च ये । तेते स्युर्भूमिपालस्य सदाऽभीष्टाः कलौ युगे
hetuvādaratā ye ca bhaṃḍaṃvidyāparāśca ye | tete syurbhūmipālasya sadā'bhīṣṭāḥ kalau yuge
Mereka yang gemar berdebat dengan hujah, dan mereka yang tekun pada seni yang sia-sia serta ilmu yang menunjuk-nunjuk—orang demikian akan sentiasa menjadi kesayangan para pemerintah pada Zaman Kali.
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; deduced as a narrator describing Kali-yuga signs)
Scene: A royal court where the king favors flashy debaters and performers; true sages sit ignored at the margins. Scrolls of logic and ornate ‘arts’ are presented as gifts, while a simple śāstra manuscript remains unoffered—symbolizing misplaced patronage.
FAQs
It cautions that social prestige may shift toward mere rhetoric and entertainment; seekers should value wisdom rooted in dharma rather than display.
No tīrtha is named in this shloka; it is part of a wider tīrtha-māhātmya chapter’s moral framing.
None.