Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5
यथाऽनृणे बीजमुप्त्वा वप्ता न लभते फलम् । तथानृचे हविर्दत्त्वा न दाता लभते फलम्
yathā'nṛṇe bījamuptvā vaptā na labhate phalam | tathānṛce havirdattvā na dātā labhate phalam
«Wie der Sämann keine Frucht erlangt, wenn er den Samen in unfruchtbaren Boden sät, so erlangt auch der Spender keine Frucht, wenn er das Opferhavis einem gibt, der ohne vedische Verse ist.»
Īśvara (Śiva)
Scene: A farmer sowing seed on cracked, barren ground contrasted with a proper fertile field; parallel scene of a donor offering havis into fire while an unqualified priest stands without Vedic signs (no manuscript, no śikhā/marks implied).
FAQs
Ritual efficacy is relational: the sanctity of offering and the qualification of the receiver together shape the spiritual result.
No specific sacred site is mentioned in this verse.
It warns that offering havis (as in śrāddha/yajña contexts) to a non-Veda-reciter does not yield the intended phala to the donor.