Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 93
बहुना किं मनुष्येभ्यः सर्वो धन्योऽन्ययोनिजः । स्वभावमेव जानीहि पुण्यापुण्यादिकल्पना
bahunā kiṃ manuṣyebhyaḥ sarvo dhanyo'nyayonijaḥ | svabhāvameva jānīhi puṇyāpuṇyādikalpanā
Why speak at length of humans? One born from another womb is, in every way, the fortunate one. Know it as mere nature itself—this notion of ‘merit and demerit’ and the like is only a construct.
Unspecified in snippet (likely a materialistic/hedonistic interlocutor within the dialogue)
Listener: Nandabhadra
Scene: A disputation scene: a speaker asserting ‘svabhāva alone’ and dismissing merit/demerit, while a composed listener prepares to respond; ascetic ambience with subtle tension.
FAQs
It presents a disputant’s claim that ‘puṇya and pāpa’ are conceptual, setting up the text’s later reaffirmation of dharma.
None; the focus is doctrinal debate rather than sthala-māhātmya.
None; it argues about the basis of ethics rather than prescribing practice.