Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15
अग्निष्टोमादयो यज्ञा ये प्रोक्ताः प्राक्स्वयंभुवा । अन्यदेहांतरे स्वर्गः प्राप्यते तैः कृतैर्नृप
agniṣṭomādayo yajñā ye proktāḥ prāksvayaṃbhuvā | anyadehāṃtare svargaḥ prāpyate taiḥ kṛtairnṛpa
Ô roi, les sacrifices tels que l’Agniṣṭoma et autres, enseignés jadis par l’Auto-né (Brahmā), mènent certes au ciel ; mais ce ciel n’est atteint qu’après être entré dans un autre corps, c’est-à-dire après la mort, par l’accomplissement de ces rites.
Vasiṣṭha (implied from the surrounding dialogue with Triśaṅku)
Listener: Triśaṅku
Scene: Vasiṣṭha enumerates Vedic sacrifices—Agniṣṭoma foremost—while explaining that their heaven is reached only after leaving the present body.
FAQs
Vedic sacrifices can grant heavenly merit, but their fruition is generally post-mortem; the verse contrasts delayed ritual reward with the desire for immediate attainment.
This verse itself speaks generally of yajña and svarga; the broader Tīrthamāhātmya context frames the teaching within sacred-geography praise, but no single tīrtha is named in this line.
Performance of Vedic sacrifices such as the Agniṣṭoma is referenced as the means to attain svarga.