Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38
प्रकृतीनां च सर्वासां न मन्त्रो द्वादशाक्षरः । न जपो न तपः कार्यं कायक्लेशाद्विशुद्धिता
prakṛtīnāṃ ca sarvāsāṃ na mantro dvādaśākṣaraḥ | na japo na tapaḥ kāryaṃ kāyakleśādviśuddhitā
และสำหรับบุคคลทั้งปวงเช่นนั้น มนต์สิบสองพยางค์มิใช่มนต์ที่พึงใช้; ไม่พึงทำชปะ ไม่พึงทำตบะ—ความบริสุทธิ์มิได้เกิดจากการทรมานกาย
Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A contrast tableau: on one side, a figure attempting harsh penance (emaciated, sun-exposed); on the other, a calm devotee offering simple service and remembrance—light falls on the latter, indicating true śuddhi without kāya-kleśa.
FAQs
Spiritual purity is not equated with harsh bodily suffering; practice should align with one’s proper method and capacity.
No named site appears; the verse continues a doctrinal instruction within the tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.
It discourages bodily-mortification-based tapas and indicates that the dvādaśākṣara is not the prescribed mantra for all categories implied by the context.