Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41
असमर्थे ततो दानं न प्रदेयं कदाचन । दातारं नयतेऽधस्तादात्मानं च विशेषतः
asamarthe tato dānaṃ na pradeyaṃ kadācana | dātāraṃ nayate'dhastādātmānaṃ ca viśeṣataḥ
म्हणून अयोग्य (असमर्थ) व्यक्तीस दान कधीही देऊ नये. ते दात्यालाही अधःपातास नेते आणि विशेषतः ग्राहीला अधिकच पतित करते.
Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context of dialogue in Revā Khaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha
Type: river
Listener: Frame audience
Scene: A donor pauses with a gift in hand, perceiving the recipient’s unfitness; a subtle vision shows the donor being pulled downward by a weight, while the recipient falls further—illustrating asymmetrical harm.
FAQs
Dāna must be offered to a worthy recipient; otherwise it becomes a cause of spiritual decline.
The setting is the Revā Khaṇḍa connected with Revā (Narmadā), but the verse itself teaches general dharma about dāna.
A prohibition: do not give dāna to an asamartha/apātra recipient.