Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20
देव्युवाच । यो वै निरुदके ग्रामे कूपं कारयते बुधः । यावत्तोयं भवेत्कूपे तावत्स्वर्गे स मोदते
devyuvāca | yo vai nirudake grāme kūpaṃ kārayate budhaḥ | yāvattoyaṃ bhavetkūpe tāvatsvarge sa modate
قالت الإلهة: «إنّ الحكيمَ الذي يأمر بحفر بئرٍ في قريةٍ لا ماء فيها، يفرح في السماء ما دام الماءُ باقياً في ذلك البئر.»
Devī (Umā/Pārvatī)
Tirtha: Kūpa-dāna (well as merit-bearing locus)
Type: kund
Listener: Saptarṣi-s
Scene: Devī speaks as a teacher: a parched village, people carrying empty pots; a newly built well with clear water; villagers rejoice while Devī’s presence sanctifies the act.
FAQs
Selfless public welfare—especially providing water—becomes enduring merit proportional to the benefit it continues to give.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it teaches a general purāṇic dharma of water-charity applicable to sacred and ordinary places alike.
Constructing (or sponsoring) a well in a water-scarce settlement as an act of charity (udaka-sevā/udaka-dāna).