Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32
आत्मानं पूर्वजैः सार्द्धं स मोचयति पातकात् । गौर्भूश्च तिलपात्रं च दीपदानमनुत्तमम्
ātmānaṃ pūrvajaiḥ sārddhaṃ sa mocayati pātakāt | gaurbhūśca tilapātraṃ ca dīpadānamanuttamam
Il se délivre lui-même—avec ses ancêtres—du péché. Sont loués le don d’une vache, le don de terre, un vase de sésame et, surtout, l’incomparable don d’une lampe.
Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Nārada
Scene: A pilgrim at a sacred kṣetra offers a lit lamp before the deity, with a cow and land-grant symbolism shown as ritual gifts; ancestors are envisioned being lifted from darkness by the lamp’s radiance.
FAQs
Selfless giving purifies not only the donor but also uplifts one’s ancestral line, removing pātaka through powerful forms of dāna.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it teaches universally applicable dāna praised within a Tīrthamāhātmya chapter.
Perform gau-dāna, bhū-dāna, tila-pātra-dāna, and especially dīpa-dāna, highlighted as anuttama (unsurpassed).