Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70
स्वभावकठिनात्मापि स वरं हिमवान्गिरिः । प्राणाधिक सुता दानाद्यो धिनोद्विश्वनायकम्
svabhāvakaṭhinātmāpi sa varaṃ himavāngiriḥ | prāṇādhika sutā dānādyo dhinodviśvanāyakam
اگرچہ اپنی فطرت میں سخت اور اٹل تھا، وہ ہِموان—برگزیدہ پہاڑ—سربلند ہوا، کیونکہ اس نے اپنی جان سے بھی پیاری بیٹی کو عالم کے پیشوا کے نکاح میں دے دیا۔
Kārpaṭika
Listener: Rājendra
Scene: Himavān, though naturally unyielding, gains superiority by giving his beloved daughter in marriage to Viśvanāyaka; evokes the divine wedding (Śiva-Pārvatī vivāha).
FAQs
Great merit arises from selfless offering; even a ‘hard’ nature becomes spiritually excellent through supreme dāna and devotion.
The chapter’s setting is Kāśī; this verse supports Śiva’s supremacy (Viśvanāyaka/Viśveśvara) that undergirds Kāśī’s māhātmya.
It alludes to dāna in the form of giving one’s daughter in marriage (kanyādāna), presented as a highly meritorious act.