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
બ્રહ્મા બોલ્યા—“યજ્ઞકર્મથી પોતાના આ જ શરીર સાથે સ્વર્ગ મળતો નથી. દેહ ત્યજી અન્ય દેહ ધારણ કર્યા પછી જ તે પ્રાપ્ત થાય છે; તેથી, હે બ્રાહ્મણ, મને આમ ન કહો।”
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.
Read Skanda Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.