Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
यस्तान्पूजयते भक्त्या मानुषो भक्तितस्ततः । स यास्यति परं स्थानं यज्ञैरपि सुदुर्लभम्
yastānpūjayate bhaktyā mānuṣo bhaktitastataḥ | sa yāsyati paraṃ sthānaṃ yajñairapi sudurlabham
जो मनुष्य त्या देवतांची भक्तीने पूजा करतो, तो त्या भक्तीच्या बळावर परम स्थानाला पोहोचतो, जे यज्ञांनीही अत्यंत दुर्लभ आहे.
Sūta (continuing narration)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (tri-deity worship)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dvijottamāḥ
Scene: A devotee offers flowers and lamp to three deities in the kṣetra; above, a luminous ‘parama-sthāna’ is symbolized as a radiant gateway/lotus, indicating the fruit of devotion beyond sacrifice.
FAQs
Devotional worship—especially in a sanctified setting—is portrayed as a direct means to the highest spiritual attainment, beyond mere ritual sacrifice.
The merit is stated in the ongoing kṣetra narrative tied to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.
Pūjā (devotional worship) of the installed deities; the emphasis is on bhakti as the efficacious principle.