Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 45
इति भीतो महाक्लेशाच्चिंता लेभे दुरत्ययाम् । स्त्रियः कामेन नश्यंति ब्राह्मणा हीनसेवया
iti bhīto mahākleśācciṃtā lebhe duratyayām | striyaḥ kāmena naśyaṃti brāhmaṇā hīnasevayā
इत्युक्त्वा स महाक्लेशभीतः सुदुरत्ययां चिन्तां लेभे—“स्त्रियः कामेन नश्यन्ति, ब्राह्मणाः हीनसेवया नश्यन्ति।”
Narrator (context not explicit in excerpt; likely Purāṇic narrator within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)
Scene: A worried figure, shaken by calamity, speaks a grim maxim about lust and unworthy dependence; the atmosphere is tense, moralizing, and foreboding.
FAQs
Uncontrolled desire and unworthy dependence both lead to decline; self-restraint and discernment protect dharma.
No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it functions as a general dharma/nīti statement.
None; the verse gives a moral warning rather than a rite (vrata/dāna/snānā).