Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43
स्नानं दानं जपो होमः स्वाध्यायो देवतार्चनम् । अक्षयो येन वै स्वर्गस्तन्मे गदितुमर्हसि
snānaṃ dānaṃ japo homaḥ svādhyāyo devatārcanam | akṣayo yena vai svargastanme gaditumarhasi
Le bain sacré, l’aumône, la récitation des mantras, l’offrande au feu (homa), l’étude des Veda et l’adoration de la Divinité — par lequel de ces actes le ciel devient-il d’un mérite inépuisable ? Daigne me l’enseigner.
Gaja
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Bhadra
Scene: A didactic montage: six vignettes around a central questioner—(1) bathing at a tīrtha, (2) giving alms to a brāhmaṇa, (3) japa with mālā, (4) homa with rising flames, (5) svādhyāya with Vedic recitation, (6) devatā-arcana before a shrine—linked by a golden thread labeled akṣaya-phala.
FAQs
Dharma is practiced through multiple disciplines; the text points toward a specific combination that yields unfailing merit.
The verse remains within the Vastrāpathakṣetra inquiry, preparing to identify the tīrtha and the decisive practice.
It lists core dharmic acts—snāna, dāna, japa, homa, svādhyāya, and devatārcana—asking which yields akṣaya-svarga.