Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 65
असत्यसंधो निद्रालुर्दातायं तामसोऽधमः । त्रिशुक्लः कृशवृत्तिश्च घृणालुः सकलेंद्रियः
asatyasaṃdho nidrālurdātāyaṃ tāmaso'dhamaḥ | triśuklaḥ kṛśavṛttiśca ghṛṇāluḥ sakaleṃdriyaḥ
ಅಸತ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂಧಿತನಾಗಿ, ನಿದ್ರಾಲುವಾಗಿ, ತಮೋಗುಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಳುಗಿದ ದಾತನು ಅಧಮನೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಅಂಥವನು—ತ್ರಿವಿಧ ಶುದ್ಧಿಯ ಹೊರತೋರುವಿಕೆ ಇದ್ದರೂ—ಕೃಶವೃತ್ತಿಯುಳ್ಳ, ಕ್ರೂರ, ಇಂದ್ರಿಯಾಧೀನನಾಗಿರುತ್ತಾನೆ।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Scene: A donor with outward marks of purity (clean clothes, ritual marks) but shadowed by symbols of tamas—heavy eyelids, dark aura, grasping hands—contrasted with a compassionate ascetic; a dharma scale tilts against hypocrisy.
FAQs
Outward purity cannot replace truthfulness, self-control, and sincerity; tamasic traits diminish the dignity of giving.
No tīrtha is specified; the focus is on moral classification of the donor.
None directly; it warns against qualities that corrupt the spiritual value of dāna.