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
“Or, having dug a well with great exertion, if its water turns out brackish, that effort is wasted. Likewise, a life carried on through many hardships is wasted if it is lived without dharma.”
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.