Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 149
कन्योवाच । संसारांतः प्रसुप्तस्य कीटस्यापि प्ररोचते । स्त्रीशरीरं नरस्यात्र किं पुनर्न विवेकिनः
kanyovāca | saṃsārāṃtaḥ prasuptasya kīṭasyāpi prarocate | strīśarīraṃ narasyātra kiṃ punarna vivekinaḥ
Gadis itu berkata: “Bahkan ulat yang terlelap dalam lumpur samsara pun menemukan sesuatu yang menyenangkan. Demikian juga di dunia ini, tubuh wanita tampak memikat bagi lelaki—apalagi bagi yang tiada kebijaksanaan membeda.”
Kanyā (the maiden/daughter)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A maiden speaks with sharp clarity to a sage or assembly; in a symbolic vignette, a worm in mud is shown as an allegory of saṃsāric complacency.
FAQs
Desire arises easily in saṃsāra; therefore one should cultivate viveka (discernment) to avoid being led by mere attraction.
This verse occurs within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but this specific line is a moral reflection rather than direct praise of a named tīrtha.
No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse.