Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46
यत्किंचित्क्रियते विप्र तामसं भावमाश्रितैः । तत्सर्वं जायते व्यर्थं किं न वेत्ति भवा निदम्
yatkiṃcitkriyate vipra tāmasaṃ bhāvamāśritaiḥ | tatsarvaṃ jāyate vyarthaṃ kiṃ na vetti bhavā nidam
ഹേ വിപ്രാ! താമസഭാവം ആശ്രയിച്ചവർ ചെയ്യുന്ന ഏതു കര്മ്മവും എല്ലാം വ്യർത്ഥമാകുന്നു; ഇതു നിങ്ങൾ അറിയുന്നില്ലേ?
Sūrya (deduced from immediate surrounding verses where Sūrya addresses Puṣpa)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Vipra (addressed)
Scene: A radiant authority (here connected to Sūrya in nearby verses) admonishes a brāhmaṇa: tamasic-minded acts become futile. The scene is instructional—raised hand in teaching gesture, listener attentive, sacred setting in the background.
FAQs
Ritual action bears fruit only when supported by a pure, uplifted intention; tamasic motivation nullifies merit.
The instruction occurs within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative of the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.
It warns that any ritual (including homa) becomes ineffective if performed with tamasic bhāva.