Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23
प्रत्येकं वा पतन्त्येते मग्ना नरकसागरे । दुर्लभं मानुषं जन्म बहुधर्मार्जितं नृप
pratyekaṃ vā patantyete magnā narakasāgare | durlabhaṃ mānuṣaṃ janma bahudharmārjitaṃ nṛpa
โอ้ พระราชา แต่ละคนในหมู่เขาย่อมตกลงไป จมอยู่ในมหาสมุทรแห่งนรก. กำเนิดเป็นมนุษย์นั้นได้มายากยิ่ง ได้มาด้วยการสั่งสมธรรมเป็นอันมาก
Unspecified (didactic narrator addressing a king; continuity with Yudhiṣṭhira address suggests a Mahābhārata-linked frame)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) context
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (explicitly addressed as nṛpa)
Scene: A contemplative king listens as a sage points to an ocean-like expanse labeled ‘nāraka-sāgara’ with figures sinking; above, a radiant human form stands on a narrow bridge of dharma, symbolizing the rare chance of human birth.
FAQs
Human birth is a rare, merit-earned opportunity; wasting it through adharma leads to grave suffering.
Indirectly the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape, since the chapter’s aim is to orient the listener toward purifying dharma and pilgrimage.
No direct ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on valuing human life and accumulating dharma.