Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 67
न स्नानेन न दानेन न जपेन न पूजया । मल्लोकः प्राप्यते देवाः प्राप्यते द्विज तर्पणात्
na snānena na dānena na japena na pūjayā | mallokaḥ prāpyate devāḥ prāpyate dvija tarpaṇāt
സ്നാനത്താലല്ല, ദാനത്താലല്ല, ജപത്താലല്ല, പൂജയാലും അല്ല—എന്റെ ലോകം ലഭ്യമാകുന്നില്ല; ഹേ ദ്വിജാ, തർപ്പണത്തിലൂടെയാണ് ദേവന്മാർ പ്രാപ്യമാകുന്നത്.
Skanda
Listener: dvija (addressed)
Scene: A teaching scene: a sage instructs a dvija that tarpaṇa is paramount; in the background, symbolic icons of snāna, dāna, japa, and pūjā appear as secondary, while a water-offering with tila glows brightest, leading to a celestial gateway.
FAQs
Tarpaṇa—acts that ‘satisfy’ devas and Pitṛs through rightful offerings—can surpass even common devotional disciplines when performed correctly.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a general Kāśī Khaṇḍa teaching on ritual efficacy.
Tarpaṇa is recommended as a key rite for attaining divine favor.