Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3
युधिष्ठिर उवाच । अश्वमेधो महायज्ञो बहुसम्भारदक्षिणः । अशक्यः प्राकृतैः कर्तुं कथं तेषां फलं लभेत्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | aśvamedho mahāyajño bahusambhāradakṣiṇaḥ | aśakyaḥ prākṛtaiḥ kartuṃ kathaṃ teṣāṃ phalaṃ labhet
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Aśvamedha ialah mahāyajña yang agung, memerlukan banyak kelengkapan dan dakṣiṇā (pemberian suci kepada para pendeta); orang kebanyakan tidak mampu melaksanakannya. Maka bagaimana mereka memperoleh buah pahalanya?”
Yudhiṣṭhira
Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya
Scene: A royal inquirer (Yudhiṣṭhira) respectfully questions a sage about how ordinary people can gain the fruit of the Aśvamedha, emphasizing the grandeur and inaccessibility of the rite.
FAQs
It frames a dharmic problem: how can spiritual merit be accessible when grand rituals are beyond common means?
Not named in this verse; it refers back to the promised merit connected to Daśāśvamedhika Tīrtha.
None directly; it discusses the impracticality of performing the Aśvamedha for ordinary people.