Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40
गजाश्वरथदानैः किं किं मंदिरप्रतिष्ठया । तेषां पूजादिना सम्यगिष्टा पूर्तादिभिश्च किम्
gajāśvarathadānaiḥ kiṃ kiṃ maṃdirapratiṣṭhayā | teṣāṃ pūjādinā samyagiṣṭā pūrtādibhiśca kim
ہاتھی، گھوڑے اور رتھ کے دان کا کیا کام، یا مندر کی پرتِشٹھا کی کیا حاجت؟ ان کی باقاعدہ پوجا وغیرہ، یَجْن اور عوامی بھلائی کے پُنّیہ کاموں کی بھی کیا ضرورت؟
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Purāṇic narration style within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Dvārakā
Type: kshetra
Scene: A procession of lavish donors offering elephants, horses, and chariots; priests performing temple consecration and elaborate worship—yet the focal point is a humble devotee receiving Kṛṣṇa’s grace at Dvārakā, indicating the ‘higher fruit’ beyond spectacle.
FAQs
The verse relativizes even great charities and ritual works, implying that Dvārakā-related devotion yields a superior, more direct spiritual fruit.
Dvārakā, the sacred city associated with Lord Kṛṣṇa, within the Dvārakā Māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa.
Major dānas (gifts), mandira-pratiṣṭhā (temple consecration), pūjā (worship), and iṣṭa-pūrta (sacrifices and public merit works) are referenced as comparators.