Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50
द्यूतकारे यथा सत्यं यथा चौरं च सौहृदम् । यथा नृपस्य नो मित्रं तथा लज्जा न कामिनाम्
dyūtakāre yathā satyaṃ yathā cauraṃ ca sauhṛdam | yathā nṛpasya no mitraṃ tathā lajjā na kāminām
ดุจความจริงไม่ปรากฏในนักพนัน ดุจมิตรภาพไม่ปรากฏในโจร และดุจพระราชามิได้มีมิตรแท้ ฉันใด—ความละอายก็ไม่ปรากฏในผู้ถูกกามขับเคลื่อนฉันนั้น
Unspecified (contextual speaker within Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya dialogue)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Triptych of similes: (1) a dice game with deceitful faces, (2) a thief slipping away while companions distrust him, (3) a king on throne surrounded by wary courtiers; culminating panel shows a lust-driven person acting without shame near a shrine.
FAQs
Desire erodes moral safeguards like modesty; the verse uses nīti-style comparisons to warn against habitual vice.
No tīrtha is directly referenced in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-māhātmya theme by stressing ethical eligibility.
None; it is a didactic statement about character and self-control.