Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 147
तद्वत्सर्वमिदं लोके दुःखं दुःखेन शाम्यति । एवमेतज्जगत्सर्वमन्योन्यातिशयोच्छ्रितम्
tadvatsarvamidaṃ loke duḥkhaṃ duḥkhena śāmyati | evametajjagatsarvamanyonyātiśayocchritam
उसी प्रकार इस लोक में सब कुछ दुःख ही है, और दुःख का शमन भी दुःख से ही होता है। इस तरह यह समस्त जगत् परस्पर-प्रतिस्पर्धी अतिशयता पर टिका हुआ है।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Scene: A crowded marketplace of kings, merchants, and ascetics all striving to outdo one another; a spiral staircase of ‘excess’ rises upward, yet each step is marked by suffering; a calm seer observes the pattern.
FAQs
Rivalry-driven life perpetuates distress; seeing this clearly supports detachment and the search for lasting peace.
No site is named; the verse presents a universal diagnosis of saṃsāra.
None is specified; the teaching is philosophical and ethical rather than ritual.