Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 169
शिखण्ड्युवाच । जातिरूपेण संयुक्तो विद्याहंकारसंपदा । यो येन गर्वितः प्राणी स तं प्राप्य विनश्यति
śikhaṇḍyuvāca | jātirūpeṇa saṃyukto vidyāhaṃkārasaṃpadā | yo yena garvitaḥ prāṇī sa taṃ prāpya vinaśyati
قال شيخاندي: «إنّ الكائنَ إذا اجتمع له الحسبُ والجمالُ، وتزيّن بالعلمِ والأنا والثراء، فبأيّ شيءٍ يزهو، فإذا ناله، كان هلاكه من عينِ ما نال.»
Śikhaṇḍī
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Gandharva-duhitā (the addressed petitioner)
Scene: Śikhaṇḍī delivers calm moral instruction, enumerating sources of pride—birth, beauty, learning, ego, prosperity—while the young celestial listener sits subdued, attentive, and chastened.
FAQs
Pride (garva) in status, beauty, learning, or wealth becomes the cause of downfall; humility safeguards dharma.
The teaching occurs within the Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya setting, linking ethical instruction to the sanctifying atmosphere of Prabhāsa.
No specific ritual is stated; it is a direct dharmic admonition against pride.