Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40
कश्यप उवाच । अनर्थोऽयं मुने प्राप्तो यदर्थस्य परिग्रहः । अर्थैश्वर्यविमूढात्मा श्रेयसा मुच्यते हि सः
kaśyapa uvāca | anartho'yaṃ mune prāpto yadarthasya parigrahaḥ | arthaiśvaryavimūḍhātmā śreyasā mucyate hi saḥ
കശ്യപൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ മുനേ, ധനം കൈക്കൊള്ളൽ ഉദിച്ചതുതന്നെ അനർത്ഥമാണ്. ധനവും ഐശ്വര്യവും മൂലം മോഹിതമായ ആത്മാവ് ശ്രേയസ് (പരമമംഗലം) കൊണ്ടുമാത്രം മോചിതനാകും.
Kaśyapa
Listener: muni (unspecified addressee)
Scene: Kaśyapa, seated under a sacred tree near a ghat, speaks to a sage; behind them a figure dazzled by a crown and coins appears shadowed, while a luminous path labeled ‘śreyas’ leads toward a shrine.
FAQs
Accepting wealth can become an anartha; liberation comes from choosing śreyas (the higher, spiritual good) over power and riches.
The verse is framed within Tīrthamāhātmya ethics rather than a single named shrine; it glorifies the inner discipline expected at sacred places.
No explicit ritual; it cautions against parigraha (possessiveness) and urges pursuit of śreyas.