Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43
अल्पक्षीरास्तथा गावः क्षीरे सर्पिस्तथाऽल्पकम् । सर्वभक्षास्तथा विप्रा नृपा निष्करुणास्ततः । कृष्या लज्जंति वैश्याश्च शूद्रा ब्राह्मणप्रेषकाः
alpakṣīrāstathā gāvaḥ kṣīre sarpistathā'lpakam | sarvabhakṣāstathā viprā nṛpā niṣkaruṇāstataḥ | kṛṣyā lajjaṃti vaiśyāśca śūdrā brāhmaṇapreṣakāḥ
گائیں کم دودھ دیتی ہیں، اور دودھ سے گھی بھی بہت کم نکلتا ہے۔ برہمن ہر چیز کھانے والے بن جاتے ہیں؛ بادشاہ بے رحم ہو جاتے ہیں۔ ویشیہ کھیتی سے شرمانے لگتے ہیں، اور شُودر برہمنوں کو حکم دے کر بھیجنے والے بن جاتے ہیں۔
Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; deduced as a narrator describing Kali-yuga signs)
Scene: A composite tableau: thin cows with small milk pots; a kitchen with little ghee; brāhmaṇas eating indiscriminately at a chaotic feast; a harsh king on a throne ignoring supplicants; a merchant turning away from ploughs; a scene of brāhmaṇas being ‘sent’ on errands by domineering figures—symbolizing role inversion.
FAQs
It portrays Kali-yuga as a time when compassion, restraint, and right livelihood weaken, reminding devotees to preserve dharma through personal conduct and devotion.
No specific tīrtha is identified in this verse; it contributes to the broader narrative frame of the chapter.
None; the passage is diagnostic, not a ritual instruction.