Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 64
क्व स्वप्ने नियतं स्थैर्यमिंद्रजाले क्व सत्यता । क्व नित्यता शरन्मेघे क्व शश्वत्त्वं कलेवरे
kva svapne niyataṃ sthairyamiṃdrajāle kva satyatā | kva nityatā śaranmeghe kva śaśvattvaṃ kalevare
Où, dans un rêve, se trouve une stabilité assurée ? Où, dans l’illusion du magicien, se trouve la vérité ? Où est la permanence dans le nuage d’automne ? Et où est la durée dans le corps humain ?
A Purāṇic teacher (speaker not explicit in the snippet; likely continuing instruction to a grieving listener)
Scene: Four-panel symbolic tableau: a fading dream scene, a magician’s illusion, an autumn cloud dissolving, and a human figure with a translucent body—each pointing to impermanence.
FAQs
Worldly life and the body are unstable like dreams, illusions, and clouds; recognizing this supports detachment and equanimity.
None is named; the verse is a universal reflection used in Purāṇic dharma teaching.
No explicit rite is mentioned; the emphasis is on discrimination (viveka) and dispassion (vairāgya).