Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23
प्रत्येकं वा पतन्त्येते मग्ना नरकसागरे । दुर्लभं मानुषं जन्म बहुधर्मार्जितं नृप
pratyekaṃ vā patantyete magnā narakasāgare | durlabhaṃ mānuṣaṃ janma bahudharmārjitaṃ nṛpa
Ô roi, chacun d’eux tombe, englouti dans l’océan de l’enfer. La naissance humaine est difficile à obtenir, acquise seulement par l’accumulation d’un grand dharma.
Unspecified (didactic narrator addressing a king; continuity with Yudhiṣṭhira address suggests a Mahābhārata-linked frame)
FAQs
Human birth is a rare, merit-earned opportunity; wasting it through adharma leads to grave suffering.
Indirectly the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape, since the chapter’s aim is to orient the listener toward purifying dharma and pilgrimage.
No direct ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on valuing human life and accumulating dharma.