Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42
योर्थेन साध्यते धर्मः क्षयिष्णुः स प्रकीर्तितः । यः पुनस्तपसा साध्यः स मोक्षायेति मे मतिः
yorthena sādhyate dharmaḥ kṣayiṣṇuḥ sa prakīrtitaḥ | yaḥ punastapasā sādhyaḥ sa mokṣāyeti me matiḥ
Le dharma accompli par la richesse est déclaré périssable. Mais ce qui est accompli par l’austérité (tapas), selon mon avis, mène à la délivrance (mokṣa).
Kaśyapa (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim-sage instructs that wealth-funded rites fade, while austere practice shines toward liberation; a contrast of a rich donor with attendants versus an ascetic in simple cloth, seated in contemplation near a tīrtha-bank.
FAQs
Merit dependent on wealth is unstable; tapas (austerity and self-restraint) is the surer path oriented toward mokṣa.
No single tirtha is named; the verse glorifies the inner discipline that makes any tirtha-visit spiritually effective.
Tapas is recommended as the superior means—practices of austerity, restraint, and renunciant discipline.