Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49
श्रीसूर्य उवाच । तामसेन तु भावेन त्ववा सर्वमिदं कृतम् । तेन सर्वं वृथा जातं त्वया सर्वं च यत्कृतम्
śrīsūrya uvāca | tāmasena tu bhāvena tvavā sarvamidaṃ kṛtam | tena sarvaṃ vṛthā jātaṃ tvayā sarvaṃ ca yatkṛtam
พระศรีสุริยะตรัสว่า: ท่านได้กระทำสิ่งทั้งปวงนี้ด้วยภาวะแห่งตมัส; เพราะเหตุนั้น กรรมทั้งสิ้นที่ท่านทำจึงกลายเป็นโมฆะ
Sūrya
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara Kṣetra (chapter context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Puṣpa Brāhmaṇa (implied addressee)
Scene: Sūrya, radiant yet stern, addresses Puṣpa Brāhmaṇa with a corrective gaze; the human figure appears chastened, head bowed, as the moral weight of ‘tāmasa-bhāva’ is pronounced.
FAQs
Inner quality (bhāva/guṇa) governs the spiritual fruit of outer action; tamas cancels merit.
The admonition is embedded in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative of Nāgara Khaṇḍa.
An implicit prescription: perform rites with sattvic intent and purity, not with tamasic disposition.