Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10
व्रतान्ते चैव गौर्धुर्यैः शिवमुद्दिश्य दीयते । प्रीयतां मे महादेवः सपत्नीको वृषध्वजः
vratānte caiva gaurdhuryaiḥ śivamuddiśya dīyate | prīyatāṃ me mahādevaḥ sapatnīko vṛṣadhvajaḥ
വ്രതാന്തത്തിൽ ശിവനെ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ച് ഉത്തമ ഗാവുകളെ ദാനം ചെയ്യണം—“സപത്നീകനായ വൃഷധ്വജ മഹാദേവൻ എന്നിൽ പ്രസന്നനാകട്ടെ।”
Narrator (prescriptive/ritual instruction)
Tirtha: Māṅgaleśvara-tīrtha
Type: kshetra
Listener: Kingly addressee (Pāṇḍunandana context continues)
Scene: Vrata completion ceremony: a devotee offers excellent cows to a worthy brāhmaṇa, with a Śiva shrine nearby; the donor recites, ‘May Mahādeva, bull-bannered, with His consort, be pleased.’
FAQs
Charity dedicated to Śiva, especially at a vow’s completion, is framed as a direct means to divine satisfaction and merit.
The instruction is embedded in the Māṅgaleśvara tīrtha account of Revā-khaṇḍa, though the verse itself emphasizes vow-completion gifts.
At the end of the vow, give excellent cows as a Śiva-dedicated donation and recite a prayer for Mahādeva’s pleasure.