Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37
यथैते दंशमशका मानुषाणां च कीटकाः । जायंते च म्रियंते च गण्यंते नैव कुत्रचित् । इन्द्रादीनां तथा मर्त्याः संभाव्या जगतीतले
yathaite daṃśamaśakā mānuṣāṇāṃ ca kīṭakāḥ | jāyaṃte ca mriyaṃte ca gaṇyaṃte naiva kutracit | indrādīnāṃ tathā martyāḥ saṃbhāvyā jagatītale
人間界の小蠅や蚊や諸々の虫が、生まれては死に、しかもどこにも真に数え尽くされぬように――この地上においても、インドラ等に比すれば、死すべき人々は無量にして取るに足らぬものと見なされる。
Sūta
Listener: Sages in the assembly (implied)
Scene: A layered scale image: tiny insects near human feet; above, humans; above them, a distant, radiant Indra in Amarāvatī—conveying relative insignificance and the vast census of births and deaths.
FAQs
From a cosmic viewpoint, births and deaths are countless; humility and earnest pursuit of dharma and mokṣa are therefore essential.
No tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the broader Māhātmya tone by placing human life in a vast scale.
None explicitly.
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