Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 74
धर्मध्वजी सदा लुब्धः परदाररतो हि यः । करोति तीर्थगमनं स नरः पातकी भवेत्
dharmadhvajī sadā lubdhaḥ paradārarato hi yaḥ | karoti tīrthagamanaṃ sa naraḥ pātakī bhavet
جو دینداری کا جھنڈا اٹھائے پھرے، ہمیشہ لالچی رہے اور پرائی عورت میں مبتلا ہو—ایسا شخص اگر تیرتھ یاترا بھی کرے تو بھی وہ گنہگار ہی ٹھہرتا ہے۔
Skanda (deduced: Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa Māhātmya narration)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A richly dressed pilgrim carries a dharma-banner yet is shadowed by symbols of greed and illicit desire; the sacred shrine stands unmoved, while a dark aura marks the pilgrim’s moral fall—pilgrimage as empty spectacle.
FAQs
Outer pilgrimage cannot replace inner virtue; hypocrisy, greed, and adultery negate the sanctifying intent of yātrā.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra as a tīrtha whose benefits depend on ethical conduct.
A moral restriction: pilgrimage should not be undertaken as a mere display while persisting in serious misconduct.