Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11
प्रतिग्रहं गृहीत्वा तु वाणिज्यं यस्तु कारयेत् । तस्य दानं न दातव्यं वृथा भवति तस्य तत्
pratigrahaṃ gṛhītvā tu vāṇijyaṃ yastu kārayet | tasya dānaṃ na dātavyaṃ vṛthā bhavati tasya tat
Wer jedoch, nachdem er Gaben (als priesterlicher Empfänger) angenommen hat, Handel treibt — dem soll keine Spende gegeben werden; denn was man ihm gibt, wird vergeblich und ohne Frucht.
Unspecified in snippet (context: instruction within Revā Khaṇḍa narrative)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (nṛpa)
Scene: A donor offers alms at a ghat; a recipient with priestly marks is shown simultaneously weighing goods in a marketplace—symbolizing the conflict; the sage warns the king that such giving becomes ‘vṛthā’.
FAQs
Dāna is not merely giving—its spiritual efficacy depends on the recipient’s dharmic integrity and proper livelihood.
The Revā (Narmadā) region frames the discourse, but the verse itself is a general dharma rule about charity.
Do not offer dāna to a person who mixes priestly gift-acceptance with commerce; such giving is said to yield no merit.