Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
अकृत्यं मन्यते कृत्यं मित्रं शत्रुं च मन्यते । शत्रुं च मन्यते मित्रं जनः कामवशं गतः
akṛtyaṃ manyate kṛtyaṃ mitraṃ śatruṃ ca manyate | śatruṃ ca manyate mitraṃ janaḥ kāmavaśaṃ gataḥ
ผู้ที่ตกอยู่ใต้อำนาจกาม ย่อมเห็นสิ่งไม่ควรทำว่าเป็นสิ่งควรทำ ถือมิตรเป็นศัตรู และถือศัตรูเป็นมิตร
Unspecified (contextual speaker within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya dialogue)
Type: kshetra
Scene: An allegorical depiction of desire as a force that flips signposts: a traveler at a tīrtha crossroads reads reversed markers ‘kṛtya/akṛtya’, while two figures labeled friend/enemy are mistaken for each other.
FAQs
Unchecked desire distorts perception, reversing moral categories and even confusing true allies and harmful influences.
This verse is an ethical maxim within the larger tīrtha-narrative context; the location is not stated here.
No ritual is specified; the focus is on correcting inner delusion through dharmic discernment.