Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40
स्नानं दानं जपो होमः स्वाध्यायो देवतार्चनम् । पुण्यं देयं तु सर्वत्र नापुण्यं दीयते क्वचित्
snānaṃ dānaṃ japo homaḥ svādhyāyo devatārcanam | puṇyaṃ deyaṃ tu sarvatra nāpuṇyaṃ dīyate kvacit
Le bain rituel, l’aumône, la récitation des mantras, l’offrande au feu (homa), l’étude des Veda et l’adoration de la Divinité—tout cela doit être offert partout comme acte méritoire; jamais on ne doit offrir ce qui est sans mérite, en aucun lieu.
Skanda (as narrator of Prabhāsa-māhātmya)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A symbolic tableau of six practices: a pilgrim bathing, giving alms, chanting japa with mālā, offering homa into fire, studying a Vedic text, and performing deity-archana—framed as universally valid acts; a shadowy ‘apuṇya’ figure is excluded outside the scene.
FAQs
Dharma is universal: cultivate meritorious disciplines everywhere and avoid sinful actions without exception.
Though stated universally, it appears within the Prabhāsa Kṣetra māhātmya as guidance for pilgrims.
Core practices: snāna, dāna, japa, homa, svādhyāya, and devatā-arcana; and a prohibition against apuṇya.