Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 85
तावत्तपोभिवृद्धिस्तु तावद्दानं दया दमः । तावत्स्वाध्यायवृत्तं च तावच्छौचं धृतं व्रतम्
tāvattapobhivṛddhistu tāvaddānaṃ dayā damaḥ | tāvatsvādhyāyavṛttaṃ ca tāvacchaucaṃ dhṛtaṃ vratam
Hanya selama itu tapa benar-benar bertambah; hanya selama itu sedekah, belas kasihan dan pengendalian diri bertahan; hanya selama itu svādhyāya dan laku yang benar tetap ada; hanya selama itu kesucian, keteguhan dan vrata yang dipegang setia terus kekal.
Vyāsa (continuation; summarizing dharmic disciplines)
Listener: Nṛpa-sattama / royal interlocutor
Scene: A calm didactic tableau: a teacher enumerates virtues as luminous emblems—rosary for svādhyāya/japa, water pot for śauca, cow/hand of giving for dāna, steady flame for tapas, lotus for dayā—each shown as sustained by a ‘thread’ of vigilance.
FAQs
Dharmic virtues—tapas, charity, compassion, restraint, study, purity, and vows—remain effective only while they are sincerely maintained without inner collapse.
The verse is virtue-focused rather than site-specific; within Dharmāraṇya Māhātmya it teaches the conduct that makes pilgrimage and sacred living fruitful.
It highlights foundational sādhana: dāna (charity), dama (restraint), svādhyāya (study), śauca (purity), and vrata (vowed observance), without naming a single specific rite.