Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39
दानमिज्यातपःशौचं तीर्थसेवा श्रुतं तथा । सर्वाण्येतान्यतीर्थानि यदि भावो न निर्मलः
dānamijyātapaḥśaucaṃ tīrthasevā śrutaṃ tathā | sarvāṇyetānyatīrthāni yadi bhāvo na nirmalaḥ
ทาน การบูชาและยัญญะ ตบะ ความสะอาด การปรนนิบัติสถานศักดิ์สิทธิ์ และการสดับพระคัมภีร์—ทั้งหมดนี้มิใช่ตีรถะที่แท้ หากภาวะภายในมิได้บริสุทธิ์
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (principle of ‘inner tīrtha’)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A montage: a donor giving coins, a priest performing yajña, an ascetic in tapas, a scholar with palm-leaf texts, a pilgrim serving at a ghāṭa—each scene split into two: one with dark ‘impure bhāva’ shadow, one with radiant pure heart, showing what makes them true tīrthas.
FAQs
Intention (bhāva) is the measure of sanctity—without purity of heart, even revered practices lose their purifying power.
Kāśī is the broader frame, but the verse universalizes the principle: any tīrtha’s fruit depends on nirmala-bhāva.
Perform dāna, ijyā, tapas, śauca, tīrtha-sevā, and study with purified motivation; otherwise they are declared spiritually ineffective.