Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2
यंयं काममभिध्याय संपूजयति मानवः । तंतं स लभते राजन्निष्कामो मोक्षमाप्नुयात्
yaṃyaṃ kāmamabhidhyāya saṃpūjayati mānavaḥ | taṃtaṃ sa labhate rājanniṣkāmo mokṣamāpnuyāt
मनुष्य ज्या-ज्या कामनेचे चिंतन करून गुहेश्वराची सम्यक् पूजा करतो, हे राजन्, तो त्या-त्या फळास प्राप्त होतो; आणि जो निष्काम भावे पूजतो, तो मोक्ष पावतो.
Pulastya
Tirtha: Guheśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: A king (addressed as rājan; traditionally a royal interlocutor in tīrtha-māhātmya dialogues)
Scene: A devotee stands before Guheśvara-liṅga in a cave-like sanctum, offering bilva and water; two contrasting inner states are shown—one with desire (iṣṭa) and one serene, desireless, oriented to mokṣa.
FAQs
The Purāṇic ideal harmonizes worldly aims with the highest aim: devotion grants boons, but desireless worship culminates in mokṣa.
Guheśvara, whose worship is said to fulfill wishes and also grant liberation to the niṣkāma devotee.
Worship (saṃpūjā) with focused contemplation; the verse distinguishes sakāma (with desire) and niṣkāma (without desire) approaches.