Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 36
सम्यग्ज्ञानं प्रशंसंति केचिद्वैराग्यमुत्तमम् । अग्निष्टोमादिकर्माणि तथा केचित्परं विदुः
samyagjñānaṃ praśaṃsaṃti kecidvairāgyamuttamam | agniṣṭomādikarmāṇi tathā kecitparaṃ viduḥ
يُثني بعضهم على المعرفة الصحيحة، ويُثني بعضهم على الزهد الأسمى (فيراغيا). ويرى آخرون أن الأعمال الطقسية كقربان أغنيشْتُوما وما شابهه هي الأعلى.
Narrative voice (context not explicit in snippet; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame typical)
Scene: A small assembly of seekers debating: one holds a jñāna-śāstra palm-leaf, another sits in austere vairāgya, a third gestures toward a yajña-vedi with Agni flames—three paths juxtaposed.
FAQs
It contrasts three commonly claimed ‘highest’ means—knowledge, detachment, and Vedic ritual—setting up the text’s resolution about the true supreme practice.
No specific tīrtha is mentioned.
Agniṣṭoma and related Vedic rites are mentioned as examples of karmakāṇḍa practices, without prescribing a specific performance here.