Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 91
मानुष्यं हि स्मृताकारं सभाग्योऽस्माद्विमुच्यते । पशवः पक्षिणः कीटाः कृमयश्च यथासुखम्
mānuṣyaṃ hi smṛtākāraṃ sabhāgyo'smādvimucyate | paśavaḥ pakṣiṇaḥ kīṭāḥ kṛmayaśca yathāsukham
ಸ್ಮೃತಿ-ವಿವೇಕಯುಕ್ತ ಮಾನವದೇಹವನ್ನು ಪಡೆದು ಭಾಗ್ಯವಂತನು ಈ ಬಂಧನದಿಂದ ವಿಮುಕ್ತನಾಗುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಆದರೆ ಪಶುಗಳು, ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳು, ಕೀಟಗಳು, ಕೃಮಿಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ತಮ್ಮ ಸುಖದಂತೆ ಬದುಕುತ್ತವೆ।
Unspecified in snippet (context: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration, likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa framing a dialogue)
Scene: A human devotee holds a palm-leaf manuscript (smṛti/śāstra) and a japa-mālā, standing between two paths: one leading to liberation light, the other to carefree animal life in a forest.
FAQs
Human birth, marked by smṛti (reflective memory), is uniquely suited for liberation; other births mainly follow instinctive comfort.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it gives a general purāṇic teaching on embodiment and release.
None explicitly; the verse emphasizes inner capacity (smṛti/viveka) rather than a named rite.