Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 7
सर्वेषामपि पुण्यानां सर्वेषां श्रेयसामपि । सर्वेषामपि यज्ञानां जपयज्ञः परः स्मृतः
sarveṣāmapi puṇyānāṃ sarveṣāṃ śreyasāmapi | sarveṣāmapi yajñānāṃ japayajñaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ
«Parmi tous les actes méritoires, parmi toutes les voies du bien, et parmi tous les sacrifices, le japa-yajña — le sacrifice de la récitation répétée du mantra — est tenu pour le plus élevé.»
Sūta
Listener: Ṛṣis (implied)
Scene: A didactic tableau contrasting outer yajña implements with a sage holding a japa-mālā, indicating japa as the highest sacrifice.
FAQs
Inner sacrifice—steady mantra repetition—is elevated above external ritual as the most effective dharmic offering.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse glorifies a portable ‘tīrtha-like’ practice: japa.
Japa is explicitly praised as the foremost yajña, encouraging regular mantra repetition as a primary sādhana.