Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 87
क्लेशेन कृत्वा कूपं वा स च क्षारोदको वृथा । बहुक्लेशैर्जन्म नीतं विना धर्मं तथा वृथा
kleśena kṛtvā kūpaṃ vā sa ca kṣārodako vṛthā | bahukleśairjanma nītaṃ vinā dharmaṃ tathā vṛthā
“Hoặc dốc sức đào giếng, nhưng nước lại hóa mặn chát, thì công ấy uổng phí. Cũng vậy, một đời trải qua bao gian lao sẽ thành uổng phí nếu sống không có dharma.”
Dharmavarman (continued)
Scene: Villagers dig a deep well with ropes and baskets; the first drawn water is shown as pale and salty (crystallized salt motif). Above, a symbolic dharma-lotus pours clear water into a second well, indicating the life made fruitful by dharma.
FAQs
Dharma is the ‘sweet water’ of life; without it, even great effort yields no true benefit.
None explicitly; the verse is a general dharma teaching.
No direct ritual; it stresses dharma as the essential principle behind all human striving.