Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 87
क्लेशेन कृत्वा कूपं वा स च क्षारोदको वृथा । बहुक्लेशैर्जन्म नीतं विना धर्मं तथा वृथा
kleśena kṛtvā kūpaṃ vā sa ca kṣārodako vṛthā | bahukleśairjanma nītaṃ vinā dharmaṃ tathā vṛthā
„Oder: Gräbt man mit großer Mühe einen Brunnen und das Wasser ist salzig, so ist die Anstrengung vergebens. Ebenso ist ein Leben, das durch viele Beschwerden getragen wird, vergebens, wenn es ohne Dharma gelebt wird.“
Dharmavarman (continued)
Scene: Villagers dig a deep well with ropes and baskets; the first drawn water is shown as pale and salty (crystallized salt motif). Above, a symbolic dharma-lotus pours clear water into a second well, indicating the life made fruitful by dharma.
FAQs
Dharma is the ‘sweet water’ of life; without it, even great effort yields no true benefit.
None explicitly; the verse is a general dharma teaching.
No direct ritual; it stresses dharma as the essential principle behind all human striving.