Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24
तेनोक्तं न स यज्ञोऽस्ति येन स्वर्गे प्रगम्यते । अनेनैव शरीरेण मुक्त्वा देहांतरं नृप
tenoktaṃ na sa yajño'sti yena svarge pragamyate | anenaiva śarīreṇa muktvā dehāṃtaraṃ nṛpa
அவர் என்னிடம் கூறினார்: ‘ஓ அரசனே! இந்த உடலோடே—உடலை விட்டுப் பிற உடல் எடுக்காமல்—சொர்க்கம் அடையச் செய்யும் யாகம் எதுவும் இல்லை.’
Triśaṅku (reporting Vasiṣṭha’s statement)
Scene: Vasiṣṭha calmly instructs Triśaṅku, gesturing toward the sacrificial altar as if to say ‘this cannot achieve that’; Triśaṅku’s face shows disappointment, foreshadowing his turn to Viśvāmitra.
FAQs
Purāṇic teaching stresses cosmic order: heavenly attainment normally follows death and transition, not bodily demand born of insistence.
No particular tirtha is named; the verse supports the chapter’s moral-theological backdrop within the Tīrthamāhātmya.
A yajña is discussed in principle, but the point is its limitation—such a rite is said not to exist for bodily ascent.