Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 25
दुर्व्याख्येयस्त्वयं श्लोको धनं लभ्यं न चैव नः । तीर्थयात्रां कथं यामीत्येवाचिंत्यात्र चागताः
durvyākhyeyastvayaṃ śloko dhanaṃ labhyaṃ na caiva naḥ | tīrthayātrāṃ kathaṃ yāmītyevāciṃtyātra cāgatāḥ
Bài tụng này quả thật khó giảng giải, mà chúng ta lại chẳng được chút tài vật nào. Nghĩ rằng: “Vậy làm sao có thể lên đường hành hương đến các thánh địa tīrtha?”, chúng ta đã đến đây trong nỗi băn khoăn lo lắng.
Unspecified narrator (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa dialogue, likely Sūta’s narration)
Tirtha: Generic ‘tīrthāni’ (plural; unspecified)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nārada
Scene: The petitioners sit before Nārada, worried and empty-handed, holding the manuscript; behind them a faint imagined panorama of rivers, ghats, and temples symbolizes the desired tīrtha-journey.
FAQs
Pilgrimage is a dharmic aspiration, but it should be guided by right counsel and understanding rather than anxiety and material calculation alone.
The verse speaks generally of tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage) without naming a particular site.
None directly; the focus is on the intention to undertake tīrthayātrā and the need for guidance.