Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच । न होमांतं विना मन्त्रः स्फुरते पार्थिवोत्तम । अभिषेकविधौ प्रोक्तो यः पूर्वं पद्मयोनिना । तस्मान्नाहं करिष्यामि तव यद्वै हृदि स्थितम्
yājñavalkya uvāca | na homāṃtaṃ vinā mantraḥ sphurate pārthivottama | abhiṣekavidhau prokto yaḥ pūrvaṃ padmayoninā | tasmānnāhaṃ kariṣyāmi tava yadvai hṛdi sthitam
Yājñavalkya dit : Ô meilleur des rois, sans achever le rite par le homa, le mantra ne manifeste pas sa puissance véritable. Ce mantra du rituel d’abhiṣeka fut jadis enseigné par le Né du Lotus (Brahmā). Aussi ne ferai-je pas ce qui n’est que désir arrêté dans ton cœur.
Yājñavalkya
Listener: A king (addressed as pārthivottama)
Scene: A composed sage Yājñavalkya addresses a crowned king in a court setting, palm raised in gentle refusal; a small homa-kuṇḍa and ritual vessels indicate the incomplete rite; Brahmā’s lotus iconography appears as a subtle backdrop to signify scriptural authority.
FAQs
Sacred rites succeed through correct dharmic procedure—mantra and homa together—rather than through forceful intention or worldly pressure.
No tīrtha is explicitly named in this verse; it teaches ritual principles within a tīrtha-mahātmya setting.
Mantra efficacy is said to require completion with homa; the abhiṣeka-vidhi is traced to Brahmā as authoritative source.