Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
दधीचिरस्थीनि न किं पुरा ददौ जगत्त्रयं किं न ददेऽर्थिने बलिः । दत्तः स्म किं नो मधुकैटभौ शिरो बभूव तार्क्ष्योपि च विष्णुवाहनम्
dadhīcirasthīni na kiṃ purā dadau jagattrayaṃ kiṃ na dade'rthine baliḥ | dattaḥ sma kiṃ no madhukaiṭabhau śiro babhūva tārkṣyopi ca viṣṇuvāhanam
Dadhīci jadis n’a-t-il pas donné jusqu’à ses os ? Bali n’a-t-il pas offert les trois mondes à un suppliant ? La tête de Madhu et de Kaiṭabha n’a-t-elle pas été donnée ? Et Tārkṣya (Garuḍa) n’est-il pas devenu la monture même de Viṣṇu ?
Agastya (deduced from immediate narrative context of Adhyāya 5)
Scene: A montage-like moral tableau: Dadhīci offering his bones; Bali offering the three worlds to a dwarf-brāhmaṇa; the severed heads of Madhu and Kaiṭabha as trophies of cosmic order; Garuḍa kneeling as Viṣṇu’s mount—each scene illustrating supreme giving and service.
FAQs
Greatness is proven by giving—dāna and self-offering are celebrated as the highest expressions of dharma.
Indirectly Kāśī: the verse supports the sage’s resolve in the Kāśī narrative by invoking legendary models of sacrifice.
The principle of dāna (charitable giving/self-giving), illustrated through famous Purāṇic precedents.