Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 101

Devanagari script

अनर्हते यद्ददाति न ददाति तथार्हते । अर्हानर्हपरिज्ञानाद्दानधर्मो हि दुष्करः

Transliteration

anarhate yaddadāti na dadāti tathārhate | arhānarhaparijñānāddānadharmo hi duṣkaraḥ

Translation

Wenn man dem Unwürdigen gibt und dem Würdigen nicht gibt—weil es schwer ist, Würdiges von Unwürdigem zu unterscheiden—dann wird wahrlich das Dharma der Gabe schwer zu erfüllen.

Word by Word

• an-arhate: to the unworthy (person)
• an-arhate: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-arhata (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-पूर्वक ‘अर्हत्’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे (अर्हत्-शब्दः), चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; नञ्-समासपूर्वकः

• yat: which (that)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकं सर्वनाम

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धा॒तु; दानार्थकः)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धा॒तु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus/so’)

• arhate: to the worthy (person)
• arhate: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arhata (प्रातिपदिक ‘अर्हत्’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• arha-anarha-parijñānāt: from (the) discernment of worthy and unworthy
• arha-anarha-parijñānāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arha (प्रातिपदिक) + anarha (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-पूर्वक) + parijñāna (प्रातिपदिक; परि+ज्ञा-धातोः भाव/करण-नाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—(अर्ह + अनर्ह) इति द्वन्द्व-तत्पुरुष-समाहारार्थः, ततः ‘परिज्ञान’ इत्यनेन षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषभावः (अर्हानर्हयोः परिज्ञानम्)

• dāna-dharmaḥ: the duty/principle of giving
• dāna-dharmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दानस्य धर्मः)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• duṣkaraḥ: difficult
• duṣkaraḥ: Karta-predicative (Predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (दानधर्मस्य)

Speaker

Nārada (continuing reflection; general dharma statement)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative donor stands at a crossroads: one path leads to a humble, worthy ascetic; the other to an ostentatious, unworthy claimant. A subtle aura indicates discernment as the central theme.

Characters & Entities

• Arha (worthy recipient)
• Anarha (unworthy recipient)
• Dāna-dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity must be guided by discernment; giving wrongly can undermine the intended dharmic outcome.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; it is an ethical guideline about recipients of dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Choose proper recipients (pātra) and avoid misdirected giving; the verse frames this as a key challenge in dāna.