Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 78
दानं भोगो नाशस्तिस्रो गतयो भवंति वित्तस्य । यो न ददाति न भुंक्ते तस्य तृतीया गतिर्भवति
dānaṃ bhogo nāśastisro gatayo bhavaṃti vittasya | yo na dadāti na bhuṃkte tasya tṛtīyā gatirbhavati
वित्तस्य त्रयो गतयः—दानं भोगो नाशश्च। यो न ददाति न भुङ्क्ते, तस्य तृतीया गतिः नाश एव भवति॥
Narrative voice within Tīrthamāhātmya (contextual speaker not explicit in the excerpt)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A moral tableau: three paths branching from a heap of coins—one leading to a donor feeding pilgrims, one to a householder enjoying modestly, and one to fire/decay where hoarded wealth collapses.
FAQs
Wealth must be transformed into merit (dāna) or used rightly (bhoga); otherwise it inevitably perishes (nāśa) without benefit.
No specific site is named; the verse functions as a universal dharma-teaching within a tīrtha-mahātmya context.
Dāna is explicitly recommended as one proper ‘destination’ of wealth, alongside dharmic enjoyment.
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