Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 80
स्वर्णपात्रेषु सर्वेषु दीयते भोजनं बहु । अतिथिर्ब्राह्मणो विद्वान्सर्वस्वेनापि पूज्यते । दानाद्यज्ञो भवेत्पूर्णो दानहीनो वृथा भवेत्
svarṇapātreṣu sarveṣu dīyate bhojanaṃ bahu | atithirbrāhmaṇo vidvānsarvasvenāpi pūjyate | dānādyajño bhavetpūrṇo dānahīno vṛthā bhavet
في أوانٍ من ذهب قُدِّم طعامٌ وافر. والضيفُ البراهميُّ العالِمُ يُكرَمُ ولو بكلِّ ما يملك المرء. إنَّ اليَجْنَا تَكْمُلُ بالصدقة؛ وبدون الصدقة تغدو عبثًا بلا ثمرة.
Sūta (deduced narrator, delivering dharma-teaching within the māhātmya)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (yajña/annadāna context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (nṛpa)
Scene: Golden vessels brim with food; learned brāhmaṇa guests are welcomed and honored; the narrator’s maxim is visually embodied—charity completing the yajña like a final oblation.
FAQs
Hospitality and charity are the soul of ritual; without dāna, even a formally correct yajña is considered empty.
The teaching occurs within the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya context, linking the kṣetra’s sanctity to dharmic conduct like atithi-sevā and dāna.
Feeding guests (especially learned brāhmaṇas) and giving charity/dakṣiṇā as essential components that ‘complete’ a yajña.