Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 83
पूर्वदत्तमथान्नाद्यं प्राप्नोति स्वयमेव च । स्वयं येन न दत्तं च तथा दाता न विद्यते
pūrvadattamathānnādyaṃ prāpnoti svayameva ca | svayaṃ yena na dattaṃ ca tathā dātā na vidyate
وہ پہلے سے دیا ہوا کھانا وغیرہ بھی خود بخود پا لیتا ہے؛ مگر جس نے زندگی میں کچھ بھی دان نہ کیا، اس کے لیے مرنے کے بعد کوئی دینے والا نہیں ملتا۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame)
Scene: A contrast tableau: on one side, luminous streams of earlier gifts arriving unbidden to the preta; on the other, a desolate preta with empty hands, no relatives approaching, symbolizing ‘no giver’.
FAQs
One’s earlier generosity becomes a safeguard; a life without giving leaves the departed without support.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the focus is ethical causality (dāna and its fruit).
Implicitly urges dāna during one’s lifetime so that post-death provisions are not lacking.