Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6
सहस्रं तु सहस्राणामनृचां यस्तु भोजयेत् । एकस्य मन्त्रयुक्तस्य कलां नार्हति षोडशीम्
sahasraṃ tu sahasrāṇāmanṛcāṃ yastu bhojayet | ekasya mantrayuktasya kalāṃ nārhati ṣoḍaśīm
ഋക്പാഠമില്ലാത്ത ആയിരങ്ങളായ ബ്രാഹ്മണർക്കു ഭോജനം നൽകിയാലും, മന്ത്രയുക്തനായ ഒരൊറ്റ വേദവിദ്വാനെ ഭോജിപ്പിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യത്തിന്റെ പതിനാറിലൊന്നിനും തുല്യമാകില്ല।
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Soma-tīrtha (within Revā-khaṇḍa)
Type: ghat
Scene: A contrast tableau: a large crowd of unlearned recipients on one side, and a single serene Veda-knower holding a manuscript/rosary on the other; a subtle scale motif shows the single mantra-yukta outweighing the many.
FAQs
In dāna, the recipient’s spiritual qualification and the giver’s intention shape the fruit; quality can outweigh sheer quantity.
The instruction is embedded in Somatīrtha’s māhātmya, where charity is taught as especially potent.
Prefer feeding a mantra-qualified, Veda-grounded person; it is said to yield far greater merit than feeding many unqualified recipients.