Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38
महाभाग्येऽपि तीर्थस्य शाङ्करं व्रतमास्थिताः । वियोनिं यान्त्यसन्दिग्धं लौलुप्येन समन्विताः
mahābhāgye'pi tīrthasya śāṅkaraṃ vratamāsthitāḥ | viyoniṃ yāntyasandigdhaṃ laulupyena samanvitāḥ
Selbst an einem überaus glückverheißenden Tīrtha fallen jene, die ein śivaitisches Gelübde auf sich nehmen, jedoch von Gier durchdrungen sind, ohne Zweifel in einen ungeeigneten Schoß — zu einer niedrigen Wiedergeburt.
Nandī (deduced)
Tirtha: Mahābhāgya Revā-tīrtha (unspecified)
Type: ghat
Listener: null
Scene: At a radiant river-tīrtha, a devotee holds a Śaiva vow-symbol (rudrākṣa, bilva) while clutching coins; the coins transform into chains pulling him downward toward a dark womb-like abyss; a compassionate ascetic warns him.
FAQs
A vow’s fruit depends on inner purity; greed corrupts even sacred observances and leads to adverse karmic results.
The Revā/Narmadā tīrtha-region is the setting; the verse stresses that even the best tīrtha cannot sanctify greed.
It refers to undertaking a Śāṅkara (Śaiva) vrata, with the implicit prescription that it must be performed without greed.