Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 65
न दानानि न वै यज्ञा न तपांसि व्रतानि च । शंभोः प्रसादहेतूनि कारणं तत्कृपैव हि
na dānāni na vai yajñā na tapāṃsi vratāni ca | śaṃbhoḥ prasādahetūni kāraṇaṃ tatkṛpaiva hi
Bukan sedekah, bukan yajna, bukan tapa, dan bukan juga nazar; itulah bukan sebab sebenar perkenan Śambhu. Punca rahmat itu sesungguhnya hanyalah belas kasihan-Nya.
Tvaṣṭṛ’s son (tvāṣṭraḥ)
Tirtha: Viśveśvara (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: sages
Scene: A symbolic tableau: offerings (dāna vessels, yajña fire, tapas posture, vrata marks) fade into the background while a radiant stream of compassion from Śiva’s presence envelops a simple devotee.
FAQs
Ritual merits are secondary; Śiva’s prasāda ultimately flows from kṛpā—compassion—beyond calculation.
Within Kāśī Khaṇḍa, the teaching supports the Kāśī-māhātmya theme of Viśveśvara’s freely-given mercy.
Dāna, yajña, tapas, and vrata are named but explicitly stated not to be the decisive cause of Śiva’s grace in this passage.