Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 143
दत्तं तप्तं हुतं जप्तमस्माकं विफलं गतम् । संप्राप्ता प्रेतयोनिस्तु सशल्याद्वादशीव्रतात्
dattaṃ taptaṃ hutaṃ japtamasmākaṃ viphalaṃ gatam | saṃprāptā pretayonistu saśalyādvādaśīvratāt
“Whatever we gave in charity, whatever austerities we performed, whatever offerings we made into the fire, and whatever mantras we recited—all of it became fruitless. For we have come to the preta-state because we observed the Dvādaśī vow with śalya, a defiling blemish.”
Pretāḥ (departed spirits)
Tirtha: Dvārakā
Type: kshetra
Listener: Candraśarman (implied)
Scene: Pretas recount their past pious acts—charity, austerity, fire offerings, mantra recitation—shown as fading, ineffective flames and slipping rosary beads, symbolizing merit rendered void by a single defect in Dvādaśī observance.
FAQs
Religious acts lose their merit when vows are performed with impurity, negligence, or harmful defects.
Dvārakā Māhātmya context; the ensuing verses praise Gomati tīrtha as a remedy.
The Dvādaśī vrata is referenced, with a warning to avoid ‘saśalya’ (tainted) observance.