Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6
सहस्रं तु सहस्राणामनृचां यस्तु भोजयेत् । एकस्य मन्त्रयुक्तस्य कलां नार्हति षोडशीम्
sahasraṃ tu sahasrāṇāmanṛcāṃ yastu bhojayet | ekasya mantrayuktasya kalāṃ nārhati ṣoḍaśīm
Selbst wenn man Tausende über Tausende von Brahmanen speiste, die ohne Rezitation des Ṛgveda sind, reichte dies nicht einmal an ein Sechzehntel des Verdienstes heran, einen einzigen mit Mantra begabten, vedakundigen Menschen zu speisen.
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Soma-tīrtha (within Revā-khaṇḍa)
Type: ghat
Scene: A contrast tableau: a large crowd of unlearned recipients on one side, and a single serene Veda-knower holding a manuscript/rosary on the other; a subtle scale motif shows the single mantra-yukta outweighing the many.
FAQs
In dāna, the recipient’s spiritual qualification and the giver’s intention shape the fruit; quality can outweigh sheer quantity.
The instruction is embedded in Somatīrtha’s māhātmya, where charity is taught as especially potent.
Prefer feeding a mantra-qualified, Veda-grounded person; it is said to yield far greater merit than feeding many unqualified recipients.