Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14
त्वं पुनः कुब्जरूपश्च यज्ञपूजापरायणः । न च प्राप्नोषि वृक्षाणां शाखाग्राण्यतियत्नवान्
tvaṃ punaḥ kubjarūpaśca yajñapūjāparāyaṇaḥ | na ca prāpnoṣi vṛkṣāṇāṃ śākhāgrāṇyatiyatnavān
“Tetapi engkau, dalam rupa bongkok—walau tekun pada yajña dan pemujaan—tetap tidak mampu mencapai hujung dahan-dahan pokok, meskipun dengan usaha yang besar.”
Śiva
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: A dvija/ṛṣi interlocutor (addressed in adjacent verses as द्विजसत्तम)
Scene: A hunched devotee stands beneath sacred trees near a liṅga-shrine, stretching upward toward high branches yet unable to reach; the liṅga remains the focal point, suggesting that a small offering suffices.
FAQs
Dharma includes practicality: devotion is honored, yet Śiva acknowledges real limitations and guides worship accordingly.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where Śiva personally addresses a devotee’s worship constraints.
Implicitly, pūjā using flowers from branch-tips is part of the practice; the verse highlights the devotee’s inability to procure them.