Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44
दधीचिरस्थीनि न किं पुरा ददौ जगत्त्रयं किं न ददेऽर्थिने बलिः । दत्तः स्म किं नो मधुकैटभौ शिरो बभूव तार्क्ष्योपि च विष्णुवाहनम्
dadhīcirasthīni na kiṃ purā dadau jagattrayaṃ kiṃ na dade'rthine baliḥ | dattaḥ sma kiṃ no madhukaiṭabhau śiro babhūva tārkṣyopi ca viṣṇuvāhanam
దధీచి పూర్వము తన ఎముకలనే దానం చేయలేదా? బలి యాచకునికి త్రిలోకములను ఇవ్వలేదా? మధు–కైటభుల శిరస్సు ఇవ్వబడలేదా? అలాగే తార్క్ష్యుడు (గరుడుడు) విష్ణువాహనముగా కాలేదా?
Agastya (deduced from immediate narrative context of Adhyāya 5)
Scene: A montage-like moral tableau: Dadhīci offering his bones; Bali offering the three worlds to a dwarf-brāhmaṇa; the severed heads of Madhu and Kaiṭabha as trophies of cosmic order; Garuḍa kneeling as Viṣṇu’s mount—each scene illustrating supreme giving and service.
FAQs
Greatness is proven by giving—dāna and self-offering are celebrated as the highest expressions of dharma.
Indirectly Kāśī: the verse supports the sage’s resolve in the Kāśī narrative by invoking legendary models of sacrifice.
The principle of dāna (charitable giving/self-giving), illustrated through famous Purāṇic precedents.