Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40
गजाश्वरथदानैः किं किं मंदिरप्रतिष्ठया । तेषां पूजादिना सम्यगिष्टा पूर्तादिभिश्च किम्
gajāśvarathadānaiḥ kiṃ kiṃ maṃdirapratiṣṭhayā | teṣāṃ pūjādinā samyagiṣṭā pūrtādibhiśca kim
ആന-കുതിര-രഥ ദാനങ്ങൾകൊണ്ട് എന്തു, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ക്ഷേത്രപ്രതിഷ്ഠകൊണ്ടും എന്തു? അവയുടെ വിധിപൂർവമായ പൂജ, യജ്ഞ, കിണർ-കുളം മുതലായ പൂർത്തകർമ്മങ്ങളാലും എന്തു പ്രയോജനം?
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Purāṇic narration style within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Dvārakā
Type: kshetra
Scene: A procession of lavish donors offering elephants, horses, and chariots; priests performing temple consecration and elaborate worship—yet the focal point is a humble devotee receiving Kṛṣṇa’s grace at Dvārakā, indicating the ‘higher fruit’ beyond spectacle.
FAQs
The verse relativizes even great charities and ritual works, implying that Dvārakā-related devotion yields a superior, more direct spiritual fruit.
Dvārakā, the sacred city associated with Lord Kṛṣṇa, within the Dvārakā Māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa.
Major dānas (gifts), mandira-pratiṣṭhā (temple consecration), pūjā (worship), and iṣṭa-pūrta (sacrifices and public merit works) are referenced as comparators.