Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
स्वयं दृष्टः श्रुतो वापि संजातोऽत्र धरातले । स्वर्गं गतः शरीरेण सहितस्तत्प्रकीर्तय
svayaṃ dṛṣṭaḥ śruto vāpi saṃjāto'tra dharātale | svargaṃ gataḥ śarīreṇa sahitastatprakīrtaya
நீயே கண்டதோ அல்லது கேட்டதோ—இந்தப் பூமியில் பிறந்த ஒருவர் தன் உடலோடே சுவர்க்கம் சென்றார் என்றால்—அந்த எடுத்துக்காட்டைத் தெளிவாகச் சொல்.
Triśaṅku (implied: he challenges Vasiṣṭha for a bodily ascent to heaven)
Listener: Triśaṅku
Scene: Vasiṣṭha, firm yet composed, challenges Triśaṅku to name any person who ascended to heaven with the same body; Triśaṅku appears unsettled, searching for an answer.
FAQs
The verse foregrounds the exceptional claim of attaining heaven with the physical body, challenging ordinary karmic expectations and setting up a test of spiritual authority.
No specific tīrtha is named in the verse; the tīrtha-setting is implicit in the surrounding Māhātmya narrative.
No direct prescription is given here; it requests a precedent/example for bodily ascent to heaven.