Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13
न यच्छति तथा दानं न च तीर्थं निषेवते । केवलं कुरुते स्नानं लिंगभेदे समाहितः
na yacchati tathā dānaṃ na ca tīrthaṃ niṣevate | kevalaṃ kurute snānaṃ liṃgabhede samāhitaḥ
അവൻ വിധിപ്രകാരം ദാനം നൽകുന്നില്ല, തീർത്ഥം യഥാവിധി സേവിക്കുന്നുമില്ല; ലിംഗഭേദങ്ങളിൽ മനസ്സുറപ്പിച്ച് സ്നാനം മാത്രം ചെയ്യുന്നു।
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages)
Type: ghat
Scene: A bather performing quick snāna while arguing about sectarian emblems; nearby, a poor supplicant is ignored; the tīrtha’s sanctity contrasts with human pettiness.
FAQs
Outer signs and mere bathing are insufficient; dharma is fulfilled through charity, reverent tīrtha practice, and sincere intent.
The teaching appears within the Hāṭakeśvara tīrtha/kṣetra narrative of Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.
Dāna (charity), tīrtha-niṣevā (reverent resorting to the sacred place), and snāna (ritual bathing) are contrasted—implying all should be properly integrated.