Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74
अथवा स कथं मेरुस्तथोच्चैः स्पर्द्धते मया । भूमेर्भारभृतःप्रायो भवंति भ्रांति भूमयः
athavā sa kathaṃ merustathoccaiḥ sparddhate mayā | bhūmerbhārabhṛtaḥprāyo bhavaṃti bhrāṃti bhūmayaḥ
Oder wie könnte der erhabene Meru in solcher Höhe mit mir wetteifern? Die, welche die Last der Erde tragen, werden zumeist zum Anlass von Verwirrung und Verblendung.
Skanda (narrating/quoting; deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Meru (symbolic); Kāśī (frame)
Type: peak
Listener: Ṛṣi audience (contextual)
Scene: A figure boasts before the towering Meru, but the ground beneath appears to swirl like a mirage—symbolizing ‘bhrānti-bhūmi’; the earth is shown as heavy, carried by cosmic beings, while the devotee’s pride distorts perception.
FAQs
Anxiety swings between inferiority and inflated pride; steadiness comes from dharmic discernment and divine refuge.
The chapter’s arc is Kāśī-centered, culminating in seeking Viśveśa as the stabilizing refuge beyond भ्रम (confusion).
None.