Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 143
दत्तं तप्तं हुतं जप्तमस्माकं विफलं गतम् । संप्राप्ता प्रेतयोनिस्तु सशल्याद्वादशीव्रतात्
dattaṃ taptaṃ hutaṃ japtamasmākaṃ viphalaṃ gatam | saṃprāptā pretayonistu saśalyādvādaśīvratāt
«Todo lo que dimos en caridad, toda austeridad que practicamos, toda ofrenda que vertimos en el fuego y todo mantra que recitamos—todo se volvió estéril. Pues hemos llegado al estado de Preta por observar el voto de Dvādaśī con śalya, una impureza que lo mancha.»
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.