Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 47
शुक उवाच । संस्कारैराप्यते मुक्तिर्यदि कर्म शुभं विना । पाखंडिनोऽपि यास्यंति तन्मुक्तिं व्रतधारिणः
śuka uvāca | saṃskārairāpyate muktiryadi karma śubhaṃ vinā | pākhaṃḍino'pi yāsyaṃti tanmuktiṃ vratadhāriṇaḥ
Śuka dit : «Si la délivrance pouvait être obtenue par les seuls saṃskāra, sans conduite vertueuse, alors même les hypocrites atteindraient cette délivrance en ne portant que des vœux extérieurs.»
Śuka
Listener: Vyāsa
Scene: Śuka speaks sharply yet calmly, as if exposing a logical flaw: a contrast vignette may show a hypocrite with ostentatious vows in the background, while Śuka points to the heart (inner conduct).
FAQs
External rites and vows are insufficient without inner and ethical righteousness (śubha karma).
No tīrtha is specified; the verse teaches discernment about liberation within the broader pilgrimage-literature setting.
It implicitly critiques relying only on saṃskāras and outward vratas, stressing the necessity of righteous conduct.