Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43
महादानानि ये विप्रा गृह्णन्ति ज्ञानदुर्बलाः । वृक्षास्ते द्विजरूपेण जायंते ब्रह्मराक्षसाः
mahādānāni ye viprā gṛhṇanti jñānadurbalāḥ | vṛkṣāste dvijarūpeṇa jāyaṃte brahmarākṣasāḥ
أولئك البراهمة الذين يضعفون عن الفهم الحقّ ثم يقبلون العطايا العظيمة—أولئك يصيرون «برهماراكشسا» (brahmarākṣasa)، ويولدون في هيئة أشجار تبدو كأنها على صورة الدِّفِجَة (المولودين مرتين).
Skanda (as narrator of Prabhāsa-māhātmya)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A cautionary tableau: learned-looking but spiritually weak brāhmaṇas accept lavish gifts; the karmic consequence is shown symbolically as tree-like beings with ‘dvija’ marks—brahmarākṣasas bound to a vegetal form.
FAQs
Charity must be matched by worthiness and discernment; improper acceptance of major gifts leads to grave karmic downfall.
The admonition is delivered within the Prabhāsa Kṣetra māhātmya’s pilgrimage-ethics context.
An ethical rule: mahā-dāna should not be accepted without requisite knowledge and qualification (adhikāra).