Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 98
दत्त्वा दानानि भूरीणि मखानिष्ट्वा तु भूरिशः । चिरं तप्त्वाप्यरण्येषु स्वर्गैश्वर्यान्महीं पुनः
dattvā dānāni bhūrīṇi makhāniṣṭvā tu bhūriśaḥ | ciraṃ taptvāpyaraṇyeṣu svargaiśvaryānmahīṃ punaḥ
അനവധി ദാനങ്ങൾ നൽകി, പല യജ്ഞങ്ങൾ നടത്തി, വനങ്ങളിൽ ദീർഘകാലം തപസ്സു ചെയ്താലും, സ്വർഗ്ഗൈശ്വര്യം അനുഭവിച്ച ശേഷം ജീവൻ വീണ്ടും ഭൂമിയിലേക്കു മടങ്ങിവരുന്നു.
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue convention)
Listener: Implied audience within Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration
Scene: A visionary sequence: a donor-sacrificer-ascetic rises to a radiant svarga with celestial pleasures, then descends back to earth, illustrating punarāvṛtti; in the background, Kāśī’s Śiva-kṣetra stands as the implied alternative.
FAQs
Merit-driven rites can yield heaven, but heavenly results are impermanent; lasting freedom requires a higher liberative orientation.
In this verse the site is not named, but it continues the Maṇikarṇikā-māhātmya context of Kāśī Khaṇḍa, contrasting temporary svarga with superior tīrtha-based liberation.
Dāna (charity), makha/yajña (sacrifice), and tapas (austerity) are cited, along with their fruit of svarga followed by return.