Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13
जन्मान्तरशतैस्तेषां ज्ञानिनां देवयाजिनाम् । देवत्रये भवेद्भक्तिः क्षयात्पापस्य कर्मणः
janmāntaraśataisteṣāṃ jñānināṃ devayājinām | devatraye bhavedbhaktiḥ kṣayātpāpasya karmaṇaḥ
ദേവാരാധന ചെയ്യുന്ന ആ ജ്ഞാനികൾക്ക്, നൂറുകണക്കിന് ജന്മങ്ങൾക്കു ശേഷം, പാപകർമ്മം ക്ഷയിക്കുമ്പോൾ ദേവത്രയത്തോടു ഭക്തി ഉദിക്കുന്നു.
Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual attribution within the passage)
Scene: A sequence-like tableau: across many lifetimes, a seeker performs yajña and worship; as dark stains (pāpa) fade, a bright flame of devotion rises toward a triad of divine forms, with Śiva as the culminating refuge implied by the surrounding narrative.
FAQs
Devotion matures when karmic impurities are worn away; spiritual progress may unfold across many lifetimes.
No specific site is named; the verse supports the broader Purāṇic framework in which tīrtha and worship aid karma-kṣaya.
Deva-yajana (worship/sacrificial devotion to the gods) is referenced as a characteristic practice of the aspirants described.