Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
न स्वर्गेऽस्ति हि कृत्यानामधिकारोऽत्र कश्चन । शुभानां कर्मणामेव केवलं भुज्यते फलम्
na svarge'sti hi kṛtyānāmadhikāro'tra kaścana | śubhānāṃ karmaṇāmeva kevalaṃ bhujyate phalam
Sebab di surga tidak ada ruang sedikit pun untuk melakukan perbuatan; di sana hanya dinikmati buah dari karma yang baik yang telah dikerjakan.
Pitāmaha (Brahmā) (deduced from immediate narrative context in the same adhyāya)
Scene: A didactic contrast: celestial svarga with beings enjoying fruits, juxtaposed with earth where a devotee performs rites—highlighting that action belongs to the human sphere.
FAQs
Heaven is for experiencing results, not for creating new merit; therefore one must practice dharma and earn puṇya while embodied on earth.
It frames the need to act in the earthly sacred field described in Nāgarakhaṇḍa, Adhyāya 40, culminating in the kṣetra around Camatkārapura.
An implicit prescription: perform auspicious karmas (rites, charity, vows, tīrtha-observances) while on earth, since such performance is not possible in svarga.