Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 65
चराचराणां भूतानामभयं यः प्रयच्छति । स सर्वभयनिर्मुक्तः परं ब्रह्मा धिगच्छति
carācarāṇāṃ bhūtānāmabhayaṃ yaḥ prayacchati | sa sarvabhayanirmuktaḥ paraṃ brahmā dhigacchati
Quiconque accorde l’intrépidité aux êtres, mobiles et immobiles, se libère de toute crainte et atteint le Brahman suprême.
Nandinī (deduced: continues from prior verse marked ‘nandiny uvāca’)
Listener: Vyāghra (tiger) and/or the inquirer
Scene: A compassionate figure extends a protective gesture (abhaya-mudrā) toward animals and birds; the atmosphere shifts from threat to calm as beings gather without fear, suggesting inner liberation.
FAQs
The highest charity is to remove fear from living beings; such compassion purifies the giver and leads toward liberation.
The teaching appears within a local sacred narrative; the site’s power is later tied to a forest Liṅga established by Bāṇa.
It upholds abhaya-dāna—protecting beings and ensuring their safety—as a supreme form of dāna.