Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
तीर्थस्नानैर्न सा शुद्धिर्बहुदानैर्न तत्फलम् । तपोभिरुग्रैस्तन्नाप्यमुपकृत्याय दाप्यते
tīrthasnānairna sā śuddhirbahudānairna tatphalam | tapobhirugraistannāpyamupakṛtyāya dāpyate
Jene Reinheit wird nicht bloß durch Bad in heiligen Tīrthas erlangt, noch wird ihr Ertrag durch reichliche Gaben gewonnen; selbst strenge Askesen vermögen nicht zu erkaufen, was durch Wohltat an anderen zuteilwird.
Pārāśarya (contextual continuation)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Ganga-ghāṭas implied)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: A pilgrim at a Kāśī ghat pauses mid-ritual to serve a needy traveler; the river and temples frame the moral pivot from rite to compassion.
FAQs
Inner purity and higher merit are most powerfully secured through selfless beneficence, beyond ritual acts performed in isolation.
Tīrtha-bathing is referenced generically; the emphasis is that even tīrtha practices find their fullness when joined with compassion.
Snāna (sacred bathing), dāna (charity), and tapas (austerity) are mentioned, but the verse elevates upakṛti (helping others) as the decisive practice.