Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 143
दत्तं तप्तं हुतं जप्तमस्माकं विफलं गतम् । संप्राप्ता प्रेतयोनिस्तु सशल्याद्वादशीव्रतात्
dattaṃ taptaṃ hutaṃ japtamasmākaṃ viphalaṃ gatam | saṃprāptā pretayonistu saśalyādvādaśīvratāt
‘ਸਾਡਾ ਦਾਨ, ਤਪ, ਹਵਨ ਅਤੇ ਜਪ—ਸਭ ਵਿਅਰਥ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ। ਕਿਉਂਕਿ “ਸ਼ਲ੍ਯ” (ਅਸ਼ੁੱਧਤਾ) ਸਮੇਤ ਦ੍ਵਾਦਸ਼ੀ-ਵ੍ਰਤ ਕਰਨ ਕਰਕੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ-ਯੋਨੀ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੋਏ ਹਾਂ।’
Pretāḥ (departed spirits)
Tirtha: Dvārakā
Type: kshetra
Listener: Candraśarman (implied)
Scene: Pretas recount their past pious acts—charity, austerity, fire offerings, mantra recitation—shown as fading, ineffective flames and slipping rosary beads, symbolizing merit rendered void by a single defect in Dvādaśī observance.
FAQs
Religious acts lose their merit when vows are performed with impurity, negligence, or harmful defects.
Dvārakā Māhātmya context; the ensuing verses praise Gomati tīrtha as a remedy.
The Dvādaśī vrata is referenced, with a warning to avoid ‘saśalya’ (tainted) observance.