Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 76
इदं राज्यमिमे दारा इमे पुत्रा अहं बलिः । ब्रूहि येनात्र ते कार्यं दानं मे प्रथमं व्रतम्
idaṃ rājyamime dārā ime putrā ahaṃ baliḥ | brūhi yenātra te kāryaṃ dānaṃ me prathamaṃ vratam
“ഇത് എന്റെ രാജ്യം, ഇവർ എന്റെ ഭാര്യമാർ, ഇവർ എന്റെ പുത്രന്മാർ—ഞാൻ ബലി. ഇവിടെ നിങ്ങൾക്ക് എന്ത് ആവശ്യമുണ്ടോ പറയുക; ദാനമാണ് എന്റെ പ്രധാന വ്രതം.”
Bali
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: (audience of the māhātmya)
Scene: Bali proclaims his identity and possessions—kingdom, wives, sons—and declares giving as his foremost vow, asking Nārada what he needs.
FAQs
The highest royal virtue is generosity; dāna offered with readiness becomes a defining dharmic vow.
The broader chapter is the glory of Vastrāpathakṣetra in Prabhāsa; this verse emphasizes dāna as a core dharma within the māhātmya.
Dāna (charitable giving) is explicitly stated as Bali’s primary vrata.