Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 64
क्व स्वप्ने नियतं स्थैर्यमिंद्रजाले क्व सत्यता । क्व नित्यता शरन्मेघे क्व शश्वत्त्वं कलेवरे
kva svapne niyataṃ sthairyamiṃdrajāle kva satyatā | kva nityatā śaranmeghe kva śaśvattvaṃ kalevare
Dalam mimpi, di manakah ketetapan yang pasti? Dalam tipu daya sihir, di manakah kebenaran? Dalam awan musim luruh, di manakah kekekalan? Dan pada jasad manusia, di manakah yang berkekalan?
A Purāṇic teacher (speaker not explicit in the snippet; likely continuing instruction to a grieving listener)
Scene: Four-panel symbolic tableau: a fading dream scene, a magician’s illusion, an autumn cloud dissolving, and a human figure with a translucent body—each pointing to impermanence.
FAQs
Worldly life and the body are unstable like dreams, illusions, and clouds; recognizing this supports detachment and equanimity.
None is named; the verse is a universal reflection used in Purāṇic dharma teaching.
No explicit rite is mentioned; the emphasis is on discrimination (viveka) and dispassion (vairāgya).