Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52
तैलपात्रमिवात्मानं यो रक्षेत्तीर्थसेवकः । स तीर्थफलमस्कन्नं विप्रः प्राप्नोति संयतः
tailapātramivātmānaṃ yo rakṣettīrthasevakaḥ | sa tīrthaphalamaskannaṃ vipraḥ prāpnoti saṃyataḥ
Le serviteur du tīrtha qui se garde lui-même comme on garde un vase d’huile pour qu’il ne se renverse obtient le fruit intact du tīrtha ; ce brāhmane maîtrisé l’obtient véritablement.
Skanda (deduced from section context)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa
Type: kshetra
Scene: A brāhmaṇa tīrtha-sevaka holds a small oil vessel close to his chest while walking carefully along a sacred ghat; above him, a luminous aura labeled ‘tīrtha-phala’ remains intact, symbolizing unspilled merit.
FAQs
Restraint safeguards spiritual merit; careless conduct ‘spills’ the fruit of holy practice.
Prabhāsa-tīrtha, through praise of the ideal tīrtha-sevaka and the promise of full tīrtha-phala.
A discipline rule: the tīrtha-servant should vigilantly protect his conduct to preserve undiminished pilgrimage merit.