Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41
शालकैर्बांधवाश्चैव ह्यसतीभिः कुलस्त्रियः । शूद्रास्तपस्विनश्चैव शूद्रा धर्मस्य सूचकाः
śālakairbāṃdhavāścaiva hyasatībhiḥ kulastriyaḥ | śūdrāstapasvinaścaiva śūdrā dharmasya sūcakāḥ
ในกาลียุค สตรีแห่งตระกูลสูงถูกห้อมล้อมด้วยญาติฝ่ายเขยและเครือญาติทั้งหลาย รวมทั้งผู้มีความประพฤติไม่บริสุทธิ์ แม้ศูทรก็สวมคราบนักบำเพ็ญตบะ และศูทรกลับเป็นผู้ชี้บอกและนิยามสิ่งที่เรียกว่า “ธรรมะ”
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; deduced as a narrator describing Kali-yuga signs)
Scene: A street or assembly where false ascetics in saffron mingle with worldly crowds; a noble household woman appears encircled by intrusive relatives and morally dubious companions; a ‘dharma signpost’ is held by an unfit figure, symbolizing inverted authority.
FAQs
It warns that in Kali-yuga outward appearances and social authority can become unreliable measures of dharma; discernment and adherence to true dharma are essential.
This verse functions as a Kali-yuga description within the Tīrthamāhātmya setting; no single tīrtha is named in this shloka itself.
None directly; it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.