Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 103
यम उवाच । दानं प्रशस्तं भूम्यां च दृश्यते कर्म्मणः फलम् । स्वर्गे दानं न दातव्यं केनचित्कस्यचित्क्वचित् । तस्माद्दंड्योऽसि रे मूढ अशास्त्रीयं कृतं त्वया
yama uvāca | dānaṃ praśastaṃ bhūmyāṃ ca dṛśyate karmmaṇaḥ phalam | svarge dānaṃ na dātavyaṃ kenacitkasyacitkvacit | tasmāddaṃḍyo'si re mūḍha aśāstrīyaṃ kṛtaṃ tvayā
Yama berkata: “Sedekah itu terpuji di bumi, dan buah karma terlihat sebagai hasil perbuatan. Namun di syurga, tiada sesiapa patut memberi hadiah kepada sesiapa pada bila-bila masa. Maka engkau layak dihukum, wahai orang bodoh, kerana engkau telah bertindak menyalahi śāstra.”
Yama
Tirtha: Kedāra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis/audience
Scene: Yama rises slightly, pointing in admonition; the gambler recoils. The court is austere—Citragupta’s ledger open—signaling that even ‘charity’ is audited for correctness.
FAQs
Dāna must follow śāstra and proper context; otherwise even ‘good’ acts can turn into adharma with negative karmic results.
The textual frame is Kedāra (Kedārakhaṇḍa), but this verse functions as a general dharma-rule rather than a tīrtha-māhātmya.
A rule about dāna is stated: charity is appropriate on earth; ‘giving in heaven’ is declared improper in this narrative context.