Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 37
आत्मज्ञानं परं केचित्समलोष्टाश्मकांचनम् । इत्थं व्यवस्थिते लोके कृत्याकृत्यविधौ जनाः
ātmajñānaṃ paraṃ kecitsamaloṣṭāśmakāṃcanam | itthaṃ vyavasthite loke kṛtyākṛtyavidhau janāḥ
ಕೆಲವರು ಆತ್ಮಜ್ಞಾನವನ್ನೇ ಪರಮವೆಂದು ತಿಳಿಯುತ್ತಾರೆ—ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಮಣ್ಣುಗಡ್ಡೆ, ಕಲ್ಲು, ಬಂಗಾರ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಸಮಾನವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ಇರುವ ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯ-ಅಕರ್ತವ್ಯ ವಿಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಜನರು ವಿಭಜಿತರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ.
Narrative voice (context not explicit in snippet; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame typical)
Scene: A jñānī seated in meditation; before him lie a clod of earth, a stone, and a gold ornament—rendered with equal visual emphasis—while groups of townsfolk argue in the background about rules and duties.
FAQs
Because many paths are asserted as supreme, people become confused about right conduct; the verse points toward the need for clear dharmic discernment.
No tīrtha is named in this verse.
None; the verse describes a philosophical stance (equanimity born of Self-knowledge).