Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 33
धारणं प्रेरणं दुःखमिच्छाहङ्कार एव च । प्रयत्न आकृतिर्वर्णः स्वरद्वेषौ भवाभवौ
dhāraṇaṃ preraṇaṃ duḥkhamicchāhaṅkāra eva ca | prayatna ākṛtirvarṇaḥ svaradveṣau bhavābhavau
وهو أيضًا يُحدِث التثبيت والدفع، والألم، والرغبة وإحساس الأنا؛ والسعي، وهيئة الجسد ولونه؛ والتعلّق والنفور الخاصّين، وحالتي الصيرورة واللاّصيرورة.
Sūta (deduced for Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative frame)
Scene: A human figure at a crossroads: one path labeled ‘bhava’ crowded with desire/ego figures; the other labeled ‘abhava’ serene with a shrine and flowing river; rāga and dveṣa appear as two attendants pulling the mind.
FAQs
Desire, ego, attachment, and aversion are part of embodied existence; recognizing their divine governance supports self-restraint and dharmic discipline.
The broader Revā Khaṇḍa situates teachings in the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape, but this verse is doctrinal rather than site-specific.
No explicit ritual is stated; the verse functions as a moral-psychological teaching supporting vairāgya and right conduct.