Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37
यथैते दंशमशका मानुषाणां च कीटकाः । जायंते च म्रियंते च गण्यंते नैव कुत्रचित् । इन्द्रादीनां तथा मर्त्याः संभाव्या जगतीतले
yathaite daṃśamaśakā mānuṣāṇāṃ ca kīṭakāḥ | jāyaṃte ca mriyaṃte ca gaṇyaṃte naiva kutracit | indrādīnāṃ tathā martyāḥ saṃbhāvyā jagatītale
كما أن الهاموش والبعوض وسائر الحشرات بين الناس تولد وتموت، ولا تُحصى حقًّا في موضعٍ ما—كذلك على وجه الأرض يكون البشر الفانون، بالقياس إلى إندرا وأمثاله، غيرَ متناهين عددًا وحقيرين شأنًا.
Sūta
Listener: Sages in the assembly (implied)
Scene: A layered scale image: tiny insects near human feet; above, humans; above them, a distant, radiant Indra in Amarāvatī—conveying relative insignificance and the vast census of births and deaths.
FAQs
From a cosmic viewpoint, births and deaths are countless; humility and earnest pursuit of dharma and mokṣa are therefore essential.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the broader Māhātmya tone by placing human life in a vast scale.
None explicitly.