Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 125
एतदेव भयं मान्य गच्छेयमधमां गतिम् । अस्या अपि कुयोनेश्च संत्यन्याः कोटिशोऽधमाः
etadeva bhayaṃ mānya gaccheyamadhamāṃ gatim | asyā api kuyoneśca saṃtyanyāḥ koṭiśo'dhamāḥ
மாண்புமிகு அவரே! எனக்கு இதுவே அச்சம்—நான் இன்னும் இழிந்த கதியை அடையக்கூடும். இந்தக் கீழ்மையான யோனிக்குக் கீழேயும் கோடிக்கணக்கான இன்னும் தாழ்ந்த பிறவிகள் உள்ளன.
Unspecified narrator (the insect/being)
Listener: a venerable interlocutor (मान्य) within the narrative frame
Scene: A supplicant voice confesses dread of falling into ever-lower births; the imagery is psychological: a dark, descending ladder of yonis beneath a shadowed cosmos.
FAQs
The real terror is endless descent through lower births; it points to the urgency of mokṣa and dharmic uplift.
No specific tirtha is newly praised; the episode remains anchored near the Sarasvatī.
None; the verse expresses existential fear of further karmic downfall.