Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 99
मकरस्थेऽपि संक्रांतौ कृशरान्नं ददाति न । तिलान्सुवर्णं तारं वा वस्त्रं वा फलमेव च । शाकपत्रं स पुष्पं वा न ददाति तथेंधनम्
makarasthe'pi saṃkrāṃtau kṛśarānnaṃ dadāti na | tilānsuvarṇaṃ tāraṃ vā vastraṃ vā phalameva ca | śākapatraṃ sa puṣpaṃ vā na dadāti tatheṃdhanam
Même à la Saṅkrānti, lorsque le Soleil entre en Makara (Capricorne), il ne donne pas de kṛśara, nourriture rituelle. Il ne donne ni sésame, ni or, ni argent, ni vêtement, pas même des fruits ; ni légumes à feuilles ni fleurs — ni même du bois de feu.
Unspecified narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa (deduced from section context)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha (Prabhāsa-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpottama
Scene: Makara-saṅkrānti setting: sun motif entering Capricorn; a brāhmaṇa refuses to give; nearby, baskets of sesame, cloth, fruits, flowers, and firewood remain untouched while supplicants and cows wait; the narrator frames it as a moral failure.
FAQs
A life without dāna (charity)—even of simple items—is criticized; sacred times like Saṅkrānti are meant for generosity and merit.
The instruction is embedded in the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya of Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, aligning righteous giving with the sanctity of the Prabhāsa sacred region.
Saṅkrānti-time dāna: offering kṛśara food and gifts such as sesame, gold/silver, cloth, fruits, flowers, greens, and fuel.