Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69
ब्रह्मोवाच । न यज्ञकर्मणा स्वर्गःस्वेन कायेन लभ्यते । मुक्त्वा देहांतरं ब्रह्मंस्तस्मान्मैवं वदस्व माम्
brahmovāca | na yajñakarmaṇā svargaḥsvena kāyena labhyate | muktvā dehāṃtaraṃ brahmaṃstasmānmaivaṃ vadasva mām
Brahmā dit : «Le ciel ne s’obtient pas par les actes du sacrifice tant que l’on conserve ce même corps. Après avoir quitté le corps et en avoir revêtu un autre, on peut l’atteindre ; aussi, ô brahmane, ne me parle pas ainsi.»
Brahmā
Listener: the petitioning sage (addressed as ‘brahman’)
Scene: Brahmā speaks with calm authority, correcting the sage: heaven cannot be gained by sacrifice while keeping the same body; one must leave the body and take another—therefore do not ask this of me.
FAQs
It asserts a normative cosmic rule: heavenly attainment follows the shedding of the present body; ritual alone is not meant to override that order.
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse provides doctrinal context within a Tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.
It indirectly limits what yajña can accomplish, emphasizing the proper boundaries of ritual results.