Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 99
मकरस्थेऽपि संक्रांतौ कृशरान्नं ददाति न । तिलान्सुवर्णं तारं वा वस्त्रं वा फलमेव च । शाकपत्रं स पुष्पं वा न ददाति तथेंधनम्
makarasthe'pi saṃkrāṃtau kṛśarānnaṃ dadāti na | tilānsuvarṇaṃ tāraṃ vā vastraṃ vā phalameva ca | śākapatraṃ sa puṣpaṃ vā na dadāti tatheṃdhanam
حتى في السَّنكرانتي حين يدخلُ الشمسُ برجَ مَكَرَ (الجدي)، لا يقدّم كْرِشَرا، طعامَ الشعيرة. لا يهب سمسمًا ولا ذهبًا ولا فضةً ولا ثوبًا ولا حتى فاكهة؛ ولا يهب خضارًا ورقيةً ولا زهرًا—ولا حتى حطبًا.
Unspecified narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa (deduced from section context)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha (Prabhāsa-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpottama
Scene: Makara-saṅkrānti setting: sun motif entering Capricorn; a brāhmaṇa refuses to give; nearby, baskets of sesame, cloth, fruits, flowers, and firewood remain untouched while supplicants and cows wait; the narrator frames it as a moral failure.
FAQs
A life without dāna (charity)—even of simple items—is criticized; sacred times like Saṅkrānti are meant for generosity and merit.
The instruction is embedded in the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya of Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, aligning righteous giving with the sanctity of the Prabhāsa sacred region.
Saṅkrānti-time dāna: offering kṛśara food and gifts such as sesame, gold/silver, cloth, fruits, flowers, greens, and fuel.