Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 101

Devanagari script

अनर्हते यद्ददाति न ददाति तथार्हते । अर्हानर्हपरिज्ञानाद्दानधर्मो हि दुष्करः

Transliteration

anarhate yaddadāti na dadāti tathārhate | arhānarhaparijñānāddānadharmo hi duṣkaraḥ

Translation

إذا أعطى المرءُ غيرَ المستحقّ ولم يُعطِ المستحقّ—لأن تمييز المستحقّ من غير المستحقّ عسير—فإن دَرمَ الصدقة يغدو حقًّا صعبَ الوفاء.

Word by Word

• an-arhate: to the unworthy (person)
• an-arhate: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-arhata (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-पूर्वक ‘अर्हत्’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे (अर्हत्-शब्दः), चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; नञ्-समासपूर्वकः

• yat: which (that)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकं सर्वनाम

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धा॒तु; दानार्थकः)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धा॒तु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus/so’)

• arhate: to the worthy (person)
• arhate: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arhata (प्रातिपदिक ‘अर्हत्’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• arha-anarha-parijñānāt: from (the) discernment of worthy and unworthy
• arha-anarha-parijñānāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arha (प्रातिपदिक) + anarha (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-पूर्वक) + parijñāna (प्रातिपदिक; परि+ज्ञा-धातोः भाव/करण-नाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—(अर्ह + अनर्ह) इति द्वन्द्व-तत्पुरुष-समाहारार्थः, ततः ‘परिज्ञान’ इत्यनेन षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषभावः (अर्हानर्हयोः परिज्ञानम्)

• dāna-dharmaḥ: the duty/principle of giving
• dāna-dharmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दानस्य धर्मः)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• duṣkaraḥ: difficult
• duṣkaraḥ: Karta-predicative (Predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (दानधर्मस्य)

Speaker

Nārada (continuing reflection; general dharma statement)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative donor stands at a crossroads: one path leads to a humble, worthy ascetic; the other to an ostentatious, unworthy claimant. A subtle aura indicates discernment as the central theme.

Characters & Entities

• Arha (worthy recipient)
• Anarha (unworthy recipient)
• Dāna-dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity must be guided by discernment; giving wrongly can undermine the intended dharmic outcome.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; it is an ethical guideline about recipients of dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Choose proper recipients (pātra) and avoid misdirected giving; the verse frames this as a key challenge in dāna.