Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 66
लूतासु चैव सर्पेषु महिष्यादिषु वै तथा । जंतवः सदृशा विप्राः सूक्ष्मेषु च महत्सु च
lūtāsu caiva sarpeṣu mahiṣyādiṣu vai tathā | jaṃtavaḥ sadṛśā viprāḥ sūkṣmeṣu ca mahatsu ca
«Dans les araignées et dans les serpents, et de même dans les buffles et les autres : les êtres sont semblables, ô brāhmaṇas, qu’ils soient petits ou grands.»
The king (continuing)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brāhmaṇas
Scene: The king’s teaching is illustrated by juxtaposing tiny creatures (spider, worm) with large animals (buffalo), all placed under the same protective aura; brāhmaṇas appear reflective, their earlier certainty challenged.
FAQs
The moral worth of life is not measured by size or usefulness; ahiṃsā must embrace even the smallest beings.
Dharmāraṇya is the setting; the passage glorifies dharma as universal compassion rather than a specific pilgrimage act.
No ritual is stated; it teaches a comprehensive ethic of non-harm.