Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 37
आत्मज्ञानं परं केचित्समलोष्टाश्मकांचनम् । इत्थं व्यवस्थिते लोके कृत्याकृत्यविधौ जनाः
ātmajñānaṃ paraṃ kecitsamaloṣṭāśmakāṃcanam | itthaṃ vyavasthite loke kṛtyākṛtyavidhau janāḥ
Manche halten Selbsterkenntnis (ātma-jñāna) für das Höchste—wo Erdklumpen, Stein und Gold als gleich gelten. So sind in dieser Welt die Menschen uneins über das, was zu tun und was zu lassen ist.
Narrative voice (context not explicit in snippet; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame typical)
Scene: A jñānī seated in meditation; before him lie a clod of earth, a stone, and a gold ornament—rendered with equal visual emphasis—while groups of townsfolk argue in the background about rules and duties.
FAQs
Because many paths are asserted as supreme, people become confused about right conduct; the verse points toward the need for clear dharmic discernment.
No tīrtha is named in this verse.
None; the verse describes a philosophical stance (equanimity born of Self-knowledge).