Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 48
इंद्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यं संप्राप्तं जन्मनः फलम् । देशेऽस्मिन्भारते जन्म प्राप्य मानुष्यमध्रुवम्
iṃdriyārtheṣu vairāgyaṃ saṃprāptaṃ janmanaḥ phalam | deśe'sminbhārate janma prāpya mānuṣyamadhruvam
Dispassion toward the objects of the senses (vairāgya) is the true fruit of birth. Having been born in this land of Bhārata and having gained an impermanent human life, one should strive for that higher aim.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa frame)
Tirtha: Bhārata-varṣa (as karma-bhūmi)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A map-like allegory of Bhārata-varṣa as a sacred field; a human figure stands at a crossroads labeled ‘anitya mānuṣya’, turning away from glittering sense-objects toward a luminous path of vairāgya leading to a distant Śiva-liṅga/peak.
FAQs
The highest gain of human birth—especially in Bhārata—is cultivating vairāgya (dispassion) and aiming beyond transient pleasures.
No single tīrtha is named; Bhārata is praised broadly as a spiritually significant land.
No specific ritual is stated; the instruction is inner discipline—dispassion toward sense-objects.