Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13
न यच्छति तथा दानं न च तीर्थं निषेवते । केवलं कुरुते स्नानं लिंगभेदे समाहितः
na yacchati tathā dānaṃ na ca tīrthaṃ niṣevate | kevalaṃ kurute snānaṃ liṃgabhede samāhitaḥ
لا يتصدّق كما ينبغي، ولا يلزم التيرث على وجهه الصحيح؛ إنما يكتفي بالاغتسال، وقلبُه منشغلٌ بفروقِ الطوائف وعلاماتِ الشعار (لينغا).
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages)
Type: ghat
Scene: A bather performing quick snāna while arguing about sectarian emblems; nearby, a poor supplicant is ignored; the tīrtha’s sanctity contrasts with human pettiness.
FAQs
Outer signs and mere bathing are insufficient; dharma is fulfilled through charity, reverent tīrtha practice, and sincere intent.
The teaching appears within the Hāṭakeśvara tīrtha/kṣetra narrative of Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
Dāna (charity), tīrtha-niṣevā (reverent resorting to the sacred place), and snāna (ritual bathing) are contrasted—implying all should be properly integrated.