Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 60
तस्य पूर्वकृतं पुण्यं भस्मीभवति नान्यथा । अन्येषां दीयते दानं स्वल्पं वा यदि वा बहु
tasya pūrvakṛtaṃ puṇyaṃ bhasmībhavati nānyathā | anyeṣāṃ dīyate dānaṃ svalpaṃ vā yadi vā bahu
Segala pahala yang dahulu ia kumpulkan pasti menjadi abu—tiada akibat lain. Sedekah yang ia berikan, sedikit ataupun banyak, terhitung sebagai pemberian bagi orang lain (bukan menjadi jasanya).
Deductive attribution: a Purāṇic narrator/instructor within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (speaker not explicit in snippet)
Listener: nṛpasattama (best of kings)
Scene: Merit turning to ash: a symbolic fire consumes a ledger of past puṇya while the man offers gifts that drift away to ‘others,’ indicating phala-transfer or nullification.
FAQs
Merit is not merely accumulated by acts; it is preserved by dharmic integrity—otherwise even charity can become fruitless.
No sacred geography is mentioned; the verse is a general karmic principle.
Dāna (charity) is referenced, with the warning that its fruit depends on righteous alignment.