Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17
ते भाग्यहीना मनुजाः सुशोच्यास्ते भूमिभाराय कृतावताराः । अचेतनास्ते पशुभिः समाना ये भक्तिहीना भगवत्यनन्ते
te bhāgyahīnā manujāḥ suśocyāste bhūmibhārāya kṛtāvatārāḥ | acetanāste paśubhiḥ samānā ye bhaktihīnā bhagavatyanante
Glücklos sind jene Menschen—wahrlich zu beklagen—die nur als Last der Erde geboren werden. Sinnlos, den Tieren gleich, sind die, denen die Hingabe an den seligen Herrn Ananta fehlt.
Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate chapter context continuing into 150.1)
Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (general)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Two contrasting figures on the riverbank: one devoted, luminous and attentive; another indifferent, heavy and shadowed, symbolically weighing down the earth; above, Ananta (Vishnu on Śeṣa) as the object of devotion.
FAQs
Human life finds its dignity in devotion; without bhakti, life is spiritually inert.
No particular tīrtha is named; the verse functions as a moral foundation within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative.
No specific rite is stated; it urges cultivation of bhakti to Ananta.