Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 58
प्रयोजनमपेक्ष्यैव प्रसंगाद्यत्प्रदीयते । अनर्हेषु सरागेण कामदानं तदुच्यते
prayojanamapekṣyaiva prasaṃgādyatpradīyate | anarheṣu sarāgeṇa kāmadānaṃ taducyate
جو عطیہ صرف کسی ذاتی مقصد کو سامنے رکھ کر، رغبت اور وقتی جوش میں، حتیٰ کہ نااہلوں کو بھی دیا جائے—اسے ‘کام دان’ کہا جاتا ہے۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)
Scene: A donor, emotionally stirred, hands over gifts to a flattering but unworthy recipient; the recipient’s posture suggests opportunism; a calm elder indicates discernment (viveka) as the missing element.
FAQs
Charity motivated by desire and attachment—especially when given to the undeserving—diminishes dharmic purity.
No; the passage is a moral taxonomy of dāna.
Avoid desire-driven giving to unworthy recipients; give without expectation and with discernment.