Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 32
तत्कथं शोभनं पिंडं भवेद्ब्रूहि कपेऽधुना । अतीव धवलाः शुद्धाः पटा यत्संगमेनहि
tatkathaṃ śobhanaṃ piṃḍaṃ bhavedbrūhi kape'dhunā | atīva dhavalāḥ śuddhāḥ paṭā yatsaṃgamenahi
Alors dis-moi à présent, ô singe : comment cette masse (le corps) pourrait-elle être vraiment belle ? Car à son contact même l’étoffe, si blanche soit-elle, se trouve souillée.
Unspecified in snippet; the vocative kape indicates the listener is Hanumān, and the speaker is a teaching authority within Setukhaṇḍa.
Tirtha: Setu-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Hanumān
Scene: The speaker holds up a pristine white cloth that becomes stained upon contact, using it as a teaching prop; Hanumān watches attentively, the sea breeze moving the cloth near the Setu shore.
FAQs
Apparent bodily beauty is unstable and misleading; recognizing this supports detachment and spiritual pursuit.
The discourse belongs to Setukhaṇḍa, connected to Setu/Rāmeśvaram pilgrimage theology, though this verse itself is philosophical.
None; it is a didactic argument meant to awaken discrimination (viveka).
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