Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 49
स्वकर्म विहिते घोरे कामक्सोधार्जिते शुभे । निमज्जेन्नरके घोरे यस्योत्तारो न विद्यते
svakarma vihite ghore kāmaksodhārjite śubhe | nimajjennarake ghore yasyottāro na vidyate
เมื่อกรรมของตนกลายเป็นอันน่ากลัว—แม้ดูเหมือน ‘เป็นกุศล’ แต่ได้มาด้วยกามและโทสะ—ผู้นั้นย่อมจมสู่ นรกอันน่าสะพรึง ซึ่งไม่มีทางพ้นได้
Unspecified (didactic voice; continuing address to a king in the adhyāya)
Listener: A king (nṛpa/mahārāja)
Scene: A moral allegory: a person offering ‘charity’ with a face twisted by pride/anger, while shadowy messengers of Yama appear; contrasted with a humble donor bathed in light.
FAQs
Even outwardly ‘good’ acts become spiritually ruinous when driven by desire and anger; purity of motive and dharma are essential.
The next verses explicitly move to Narakeśvara Mahātīrtha on the Narmadā as a means of deliverance.
No rite is specified here; it warns against kāma-krodha as the inner cause of downfall.