Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 27
सत्यहीनास्तथा पापा भविष्यंति कलौ युगे । तत्र षोडशमे वर्षे नराः पलितकुन्तलाः
satyahīnāstathā pāpā bhaviṣyaṃti kalau yuge | tatra ṣoḍaśame varṣe narāḥ palitakuntalāḥ
No Kali Yuga, os homens ficarão sem verdade e inclinados ao pecado. Ali, mesmo aos dezesseis anos, os varões já terão os cabelos grisalhos.
Brahmā (contextual: Brahmā describing Kali-yuga conditions)
Scene: A striking image of youths with grey hair at sixteen, standing amid a morally dim landscape; elders look helpless as truth slips away like a fading lamp.
FAQs
It warns that abandoning satya (truthfulness) leads to accelerated suffering and degeneration in Kali Yuga, urging a return to dharma.
This verse sets up the Kali-yuga context; the chapter later directs refuge to Arbuda (Mount Arbuda) as a Kali-free sacred region.
No specific rite is prescribed here; it functions as a diagnostic description of Kali-yuga doṣas.