Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 37
तुलापुरुषदानस्य प्रदत्तस्य नृपोत्तम । न शक्यते कथयितुं फलं यत्स्यात्कलौ युगे
tulāpuruṣadānasya pradattasya nṛpottama | na śakyate kathayituṃ phalaṃ yatsyātkalau yuge
ข้าแต่มหาราชผู้ประเสริฐ ผลแห่งทานตุลาปุรุษะเมื่อถวายโดยชอบในกาลียุค ย่อมไม่อาจกล่าวพรรณนาได้จริง—เกินกว่าถ้อยคำจะเอื้อมถึง
Unspecified (narrator addressing a king; within Siddheśvara/Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya context)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: nṛpottama (king)
Scene: A narrator-priest addresses a king, gesturing toward a temple and a balance-scale; the background shows symbolic dark age (Kali) motifs—fading yajña fires—contrasted with bright, immediate merit from dāna at the shrine.
FAQs
In Kali-yuga, sincere and properly performed dāna yields immeasurable merit, especially when connected to a celebrated tīrtha.
The passage belongs to the Siddheśvara/Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa, praising the tīrtha-context in which Tulāpuruṣa-dāna is performed.
Tulāpuruṣa-dāna—symbolically weighing a person and gifting an equivalent measure (traditionally in gold/wealth/necessities) as a sacred act of charity.