Skandapurana 4.7.74.3

4.7.74.3

The daily śrāddha, offerings to living beings, and the worship of guests— / after giving these and other praiseworthy gifts, men enter the realm of Yama. / 31
Those who possess merit do not see Yama, nor Yama's messengers, nor the torments of Yama; / but even this was not performed by me. / 32
Severe penances such as kṛcchra and cāndrāyaṇa, as well as vows observed at night, / which purify the body, were never performed by me. / 33
The daily food for cows was not given, nor was scratching [their itch] done; / a cow stuck in the mud, bestowing the joy of Goloka, was never pulled out. / 34
Suppliants were not satisfied by me with the things they sought; / in another life I shall be a babbler crying, ‘Give, give!’ / 35
Neither the Vedas, nor the sacred scriptures, nor wealth, nor wife, nor our son, / nor field, nor mansion will follow me as I depart. / 36
Thinking thus, Śivaśarman focused his mind from every side / and resolved in his mind: ‘Thus will it be better for me: / 37
As long as my body is sound, as long as my senses are not agitated, / so long will I undertake a pilgrimage to sacred fords, the cause of my own highest good.’ / 38
Having passed five or six days thus at home, the twice-born / on an auspicious lunar day, an auspicious day of the week, through the power of an auspicious ascendant, the twice-born, / 39
having fasted for one night and performed a śrāddha in the morning, / bowing to Gaṇeśa and the brahmins, and having eaten, the wise man departed, / 40
having resolved thus upon the supreme stairway to the state of nirvāṇa / for all creatures dwelling there. / 41
Then, traversing some distance on the path, that twice-born, / resting for a moment on the road, thought: ‘Where shall I go first? / 42
There are many sacred fords on earth; life is fickle and the mind unsteady; / therefore, let me go to the seven cities, for all sacred fords are there.’ / 43
Going to the city of Ayodhyā and bathing in the Sarayū, / having gratified the ancestors at the respective sacred fords through the offering of rice-balls, / 44
staying for five nights and feeding the brahmins, / the twice-born, filled with great joy, went to Prayāga, the king of sacred fords, / 45