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
جب اپنے ہی اعمال ہولناک ہو جائیں—خواہ بظاہر ‘نیک’ ہوں مگر خواہش اور غضب سے کمائے گئے ہوں—تو آدمی ایک خوفناک نرک میں ڈوب جاتا ہے، جس سے نجات نہیں۔
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.