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
स्वप्न में कहाँ निश्चित स्थिरता है? इन्द्रजाल में कहाँ सत्यता है? शरद्-मेघ में कहाँ नित्यता है? और देह में कहाँ शाश्वतता है?
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).