Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48
अर्थार्थी जीवलोकोऽयं श्मशानमपि सेवते । जनितारमपि त्यक्त्वा निःस्वः संयाति दूरतः
arthārthī jīvaloko'yaṃ śmaśānamapi sevate | janitāramapi tyaktvā niḥsvaḥ saṃyāti dūrataḥ
مال کی طلب میں یہ جاندار دنیا شمشان تک کی خدمت کرتی ہے؛ اور جب آدمی مفلس ہو جائے تو اپنے جنم دینے والے کو بھی چھوڑ کر دور جا نکلتا ہے۔
Kṣatriya (narrative context within Nāgarakhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Śmaśāna (generic, symbolic)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A figure driven by greed walks toward a cremation-ground with jackals and funeral smoke; in contrast, a penniless person departs alone, leaving even parents behind—impermanence and social abandonment are central.
FAQs
Greed for wealth can push people toward impure or fearful places and can corrode family bonds; therefore one should seek artha only within dharma.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as moral instruction within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative setting.
None; it is a cautionary statement about conduct driven by wealth-seeking.