Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 58
प्रयोजनमपेक्ष्यैव प्रसंगाद्यत्प्रदीयते । अनर्हेषु सरागेण कामदानं तदुच्यते
prayojanamapekṣyaiva prasaṃgādyatpradīyate | anarheṣu sarāgeṇa kāmadānaṃ taducyate
ഒരു പ്രയോജനം പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ച്, ആസക്തിയോടെയും അവസരവശാതെയും, അർഹതയില്ലാത്തവർക്കും നൽകുന്ന ദാനമാണ് ‘കാമദാനം’ എന്നു പറയുന്നത്।
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)
Scene: A donor, emotionally stirred, hands over gifts to a flattering but unworthy recipient; the recipient’s posture suggests opportunism; a calm elder indicates discernment (viveka) as the missing element.
FAQs
Charity motivated by desire and attachment—especially when given to the undeserving—diminishes dharmic purity.
No; the passage is a moral taxonomy of dāna.
Avoid desire-driven giving to unworthy recipients; give without expectation and with discernment.