Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 54
ततो रोग परिक्लेशाद्भोजनं न चकार सः । दाघार्दितो जले तस्मिन्स्नातो भक्तिविवर्जितः । सक्तून्कृत्वोपधाने तान्स च सुप्तो निशागमे
tato roga parikleśādbhojanaṃ na cakāra saḥ | dāghārdito jale tasminsnāto bhaktivivarjitaḥ | saktūnkṛtvopadhāne tānsa ca supto niśāgame
Dann aß er, von der Qual der Krankheit bedrängt, nichts. Von Hitze versengt, badete er in jenem Wasser ohne Hingabe; die saktu legte er an sein Kopfkissen und schlief bei Einbruch des Abends ein.
Pulastya
Tirtha: Arbuda-tīrtha-jala (unnamed water)
Type: kund
Listener: Rājā
Scene: Under oppressive heat, the leprous man steps into a shimmering sacred pool/stream, bathes mechanically without prayer, then sets his small bundle of saktu by his head and collapses into sleep as dusk falls.
FAQs
Ritual action without bhakti is spiritually thin; yet even imperfect acts can become occasions for later grace and dharmic transformation.
The episode unfolds in the Arbuda sacred landscape, later linked explicitly with the vicinity of Acaleśvara.
Snāna (bathing) is mentioned, but explicitly described as done without devotion; the story redirects attention toward dāna and vrata later.