Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38
देवानां च यथा मर्त्याः कीटस्थाने च संस्थिताः । तथा देवा अपि ज्ञेया ब्रह्मणोऽव्यक्तजन्मनः
devānāṃ ca yathā martyāḥ kīṭasthāne ca saṃsthitāḥ | tathā devā api jñeyā brahmaṇo'vyaktajanmanaḥ
Sebagaimana para insan fana, di hadapan para dewa, berada pada kedudukan seperti serangga—demikian juga para dewa hendaklah diketahui berada demikian di hadapan Brahman, yang asal kelahiran-Nya tidak tersingkap.
Sūta
Type: kshetra
Listener: dvijottama (addressed)
Scene: A contemplative sage instructs a learned brāhmaṇa at a sacred ford; above them, layered cosmic tiers show mortals, devas, and a vast formless radiance signifying the unmanifest Brahman.
FAQs
Humility deepens: as humans are small before gods, so gods are small before the unmanifest Brahman—pointing the seeker to the supreme reality.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides theological framing commonly embedded in Māhātmya literature.
None; it is a metaphysical instruction about relative status and the supremacy of Brahman.