Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 33
धर्मे दद्यात्पशून्वृद्धान्पुष्यादेषा कृषिः कुतः । सारमेतत्कृषेस्तेन नंदभद्रेण चादृतम्
dharme dadyātpaśūnvṛddhānpuṣyādeṣā kṛṣiḥ kutaḥ | sārametatkṛṣestena naṃdabhadreṇa cādṛtam
Pour le dharma, il faut donner en don les bêtes de trait devenues âgées; dès lors, comment cette agriculture pourrait-elle vraiment prospérer sans fardeau moral ? Telle est l’essence même du labeur des champs, que Nandabhadra respecta et maintint.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative mode)
Scene: Nandabhadra instructs householders: an agrarian courtyard with elderly cows being gently led to a shelter/temple-goshala; farmers offering fodder and water, with a calm ethical discourse in the background.
FAQs
Dharma is protected by generosity and responsibility toward living beings; prosperity is hollow if it rests on harm or neglect.
No tirtha is named in this verse; it preserves a dharma-teaching attributed to Nandabhadra.
Dāna is prescribed: donate aged cattle for dharma (as an act of responsibility and merit).