Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 33
धारणं प्रेरणं दुःखमिच्छाहङ्कार एव च । प्रयत्न आकृतिर्वर्णः स्वरद्वेषौ भवाभवौ
dhāraṇaṃ preraṇaṃ duḥkhamicchāhaṅkāra eva ca | prayatna ākṛtirvarṇaḥ svaradveṣau bhavābhavau
അവൻ തന്നെയാണ് ധാരണയും പ്രേരണയും, ദുഃഖം, ഇച്ഛ, അഹങ്കാരം; പരിശ്രമം, ദേഹാകൃതി, വർണം; കൂടാതെ രാഗദ്വേഷങ്ങളും ഭവാഭവാവസ്ഥകളും സൃഷ്ടിക്കുന്നത്।
Sūta (deduced for Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative frame)
Scene: A human figure at a crossroads: one path labeled ‘bhava’ crowded with desire/ego figures; the other labeled ‘abhava’ serene with a shrine and flowing river; rāga and dveṣa appear as two attendants pulling the mind.
FAQs
Desire, ego, attachment, and aversion are part of embodied existence; recognizing their divine governance supports self-restraint and dharmic discipline.
The broader Revā Khaṇḍa situates teachings in the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape, but this verse is doctrinal rather than site-specific.
No explicit ritual is stated; the verse functions as a moral-psychological teaching supporting vairāgya and right conduct.