Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22
आहुर्जनानामार्त्तानां सुखं यदुपजायते । तस्य स्वर्गोऽपवर्गो वा कलां नार्हति षोडशीम्
āhurjanānāmārttānāṃ sukhaṃ yadupajāyate | tasya svargo'pavargo vā kalāṃ nārhati ṣoḍaśīm
«On dit que la joie qui naît chez ceux qui souffrent lorsqu’ils sont secourus—ni le ciel ni la délivrance ne valent même un seizième de celle-ci.»
Unnamed ṛṣi (contextual speaker within the narrative; later Śiva speaks at v.24)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrim-audience (implied)
Scene: A benefactor comforts distressed people; their faces brighten. Above, symbolic scales show ‘svarga’ and ‘apavarga’ outweighed by the small but radiant ‘sukha of relief’ (only a sixteenth comparison).
FAQs
Relieving others’ suffering yields a joy/merit so great that even heaven or liberation cannot compare to it.
The verse belongs to Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, linking pilgrimage greatness with compassionate action.
No explicit ritual; it elevates paropakāra (helping the afflicted) as a supreme dharmic act.