Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 80
स्वर्णपात्रेषु सर्वेषु दीयते भोजनं बहु । अतिथिर्ब्राह्मणो विद्वान्सर्वस्वेनापि पूज्यते । दानाद्यज्ञो भवेत्पूर्णो दानहीनो वृथा भवेत्
svarṇapātreṣu sarveṣu dīyate bhojanaṃ bahu | atithirbrāhmaṇo vidvānsarvasvenāpi pūjyate | dānādyajño bhavetpūrṇo dānahīno vṛthā bhavet
സ്വർണ്ണപാത്രങ്ങളിൽ എല്ലാവർക്കും ധാരാളം ഭോജനം നൽകി. പണ്ഡിതനായ ബ്രാഹ്മണ അതിഥിയെ സർവ്വസ്വം കൊണ്ടുപോലും പൂജിക്കണം. ദാനത്താൽ യജ്ഞം പൂർണ്ണമാകും; ദാനമില്ലെങ്കിൽ അത് വ്യർത്ഥമാകും.
Sūta (deduced narrator, delivering dharma-teaching within the māhātmya)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (yajña/annadāna context)
Type: kshetra
Listener: King (nṛpa)
Scene: Golden vessels brim with food; learned brāhmaṇa guests are welcomed and honored; the narrator’s maxim is visually embodied—charity completing the yajña like a final oblation.
FAQs
Hospitality and charity are the soul of ritual; without dāna, even a formally correct yajña is considered empty.
The teaching occurs within the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya context, linking the kṣetra’s sanctity to dharmic conduct like atithi-sevā and dāna.
Feeding guests (especially learned brāhmaṇas) and giving charity/dakṣiṇā as essential components that ‘complete’ a yajña.