Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 44
मुख्यत्वं सर्वतीर्थानामर्घं चापि पितामहात् । किंतु नात्मगुणा वाच्याः सतामेतत्सदा व्रतम् । परोक्षेपि स्वप्रशंसा ब्रह्माणमपि चालयेत्
mukhyatvaṃ sarvatīrthānāmarghaṃ cāpi pitāmahāt | kiṃtu nātmaguṇā vācyāḥ satāmetatsadā vratam | parokṣepi svapraśaṃsā brahmāṇamapi cālayet
Though this place holds primacy among all tīrthas and has received honor even from Pitāmaha (Brahmā), one must still not proclaim one’s own merits—this is the perpetual vow of the virtuous. Even indirect self-praise can unsettle even Brahmā.
Dharma (personified)
Tirtha: महीसागर-संगम
Type: sangam
Scene: धर्म-उपदेश का दृश्य: एक महात्मा/धर्म-देवता विनय का नियम बताता है; पीछे संगम-तीर्थ का वैभव; ब्रह्मा का सूक्ष्म संकेत (कमलासन/हंस/वेद) ‘अहंकार-चंचलता’ के रूपक रूप में।
FAQs
True holiness is paired with humility; saints keep a vow of not advertising their own greatness, even when it is real.
The same premier tīrtha/saṅgama under discussion in this adhyāya—described as foremost among pilgrimage places and honored by Brahmā.
A moral-vrata is prescribed: refrain from speaking of one’s own virtues (avoid sva-praśaṁsā).