Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 74
धर्मध्वजी सदा लुब्धः परदाररतो हि यः । करोति तीर्थगमनं स नरः पातकी भवेत्
dharmadhvajī sadā lubdhaḥ paradārarato hi yaḥ | karoti tīrthagamanaṃ sa naraḥ pātakī bhavet
ധർമ്മധ്വജം കാട്ടി നടക്കുകയും, എപ്പോഴും ലുബ്ധനായി, പരദാരരതനായി ഇരിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ—തീർത്ഥഗമനം ചെയ്താലും പാതകിയാകുന്നു।
Skanda (deduced: Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa Māhātmya narration)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A richly dressed pilgrim carries a dharma-banner yet is shadowed by symbols of greed and illicit desire; the sacred shrine stands unmoved, while a dark aura marks the pilgrim’s moral fall—pilgrimage as empty spectacle.
FAQs
Outer pilgrimage cannot replace inner virtue; hypocrisy, greed, and adultery negate the sanctifying intent of yātrā.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra as a tīrtha whose benefits depend on ethical conduct.
A moral restriction: pilgrimage should not be undertaken as a mere display while persisting in serious misconduct.