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
ఆయన నాకు చెప్పాడు: ‘హే నృపా! ఈ శరీరంతోనే—దేహాన్ని విడిచి మరొక దేహాన్ని ధరించకుండా—స్వర్గానికి చేరేలా చేసే యజ్ఞం ఏదీ లేదు.’
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.