Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19
पूजयिष्यंति ये केचिदपि पापपरायणाः । मया सार्धं करिष्यंति ततः स्पर्द्धां नगोत्तम
pūjayiṣyaṃti ye kecidapi pāpaparāyaṇāḥ | mayā sārdhaṃ kariṣyaṃti tataḥ sparddhāṃ nagottama
Bahkan mereka yang cenderung kepada dosa—siapa pun jua—akan menyembah-Nya di sana; sesudah itu mereka akan bersaing denganku dalam pahala kebajikan, wahai gunung yang utama.
Indra
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Nāga-bila
Type: cave
Listener: Himācala (Nāgottama addressed)
Scene: Indra proclaims to the mountain that even hardened sinners will come to worship Hāṭakeśvara at the Nāga-bila, gaining such merit that they rival Indra himself—crowds of diverse pilgrims approaching a cave-shrine with offerings.
FAQs
A powerful tīrtha and sincere worship can uplift even the fallen; sacred sites are portrayed as engines of moral and spiritual transformation.
Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra/Nāga-bila, whose worship-bestowing power is so great it rivals even Indra’s merit.
Pūjā (worship) is mentioned generally; no detailed procedure is specified in the verse.