Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16
फलानि भक्ष्यभोज्यं च पक्वान्नानि च षोडश । या प्रदास्यति वै नारी सा तूमैव भविष्यति
phalāni bhakṣyabhojyaṃ ca pakvānnāni ca ṣoḍaśa | yā pradāsyati vai nārī sā tūmaiva bhaviṣyati
ผลไม้สิบหกอย่าง ของกินของอร่อย และอาหารสุกสิบหกประการ—สตรีใดถวายทานด้วยใจจริง นางนั้นจักเป็นดุจท่าน คือบรรลุสภาพเดียวกับเรา
Gaurī (Pārvatī)
Tirtha: Varadā-Devī at Prabhāsa (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Women devotees/pilgrims (implied)
Scene: A devotional feast-gifting scene: baskets of fruits, trays of sweets, cooked rice and curries arranged in sixteen sets; a woman donor offers with folded hands before Devī, recipients seated in orderly rows in a dharmaśālā near the kṣetra.
FAQs
Generosity in nourishment (anna-dāna) is a direct vehicle of merit; giving sustenance is treated as devotion made tangible.
The broader setting remains Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where these offerings are connected to Varadā Gaurī worship.
Dāna of sixteen categories/items of food—fruits, edibles, cooked dishes—given by a woman as part of the vrata.