Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 140
ते यां गतिं गताः पार्थ न तां गच्छन्ति यज्विनः । पापानि यानि कानि स्युः कोटिजन्मार्जितान्यपि
te yāṃ gatiṃ gatāḥ pārtha na tāṃ gacchanti yajvinaḥ | pāpāni yāni kāni syuḥ koṭijanmārjitānyapi
हे पार्थ! शिवरात्रीचे जागरण करणारे जी परम गती प्राप्त करतात, ती यज्ञ करणारे यज्विनही प्राप्त करू शकत नाहीत. जी काही पापे असोत—कोटी जन्मांत साठलेलीसुद्धा—
Narrator addressing 'Pārtha' (epic-style vocative retained in the Purāṇic narration)
Listener: Pārtha (as addressed in the verse)
Scene: Night at a riverside temple: devotees keep vigil with lamps, listening to dharma-kathā; a contrast is implied with distant grand yajña fires and gold-laden ritual paraphernalia.
FAQs
Single-minded devotion and vigil on Śivarātri is exalted as a swift purifier, surpassing ordinary ritual merit.
No single site is named; the teaching is a general glorification of Śivarātri within the Revākhaṇḍa’s sacred frame.
The emphasis is on observing Śivarātri vigil; it is declared to yield an exceptional spiritual destination and sin-destruction.