Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18
ब्राह्मणा ऊचुः । नास्माकं वाजिभिः कार्यं न रत्नैर्न च हस्तिभिः । न देशैर्ग्राममुख्यैर्वा नान्येनापि च केनचित्
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ | nāsmākaṃ vājibhiḥ kāryaṃ na ratnairna ca hastibhiḥ | na deśairgrāmamukhyairvā nānyenāpi ca kenacit
Die Brāhmaṇas sprachen: „Wir bedürfen weder der Pferde noch der Edelsteine noch der Elefanten; weder der Lande noch der vornehmsten Dörfer, noch irgendetwas anderem.“
Brāhmaṇas
Scene: A group of brāhmaṇas calmly declining royal gifts—horses, elephants, jewels—gesturing toward simplicity and higher inquiry.
FAQs
Worldly wealth is not the highest aim; the dialogue frames spiritual benefit and dharma as superior to material gifts.
This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya setting; the snippet itself does not name a specific tīrtha.
No direct rite is prescribed here; it prepares the ground for a request for a doubt-destroying ‘dakṣiṇā’ (a spiritual offering/answer).