Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 76
अथवा सत्यमेवोक्तं केनापि च महात्मना । कृपणेन समो दाता न भूतो न भविष्यति । अस्पृष्ट्वापि च वित्तं स्वं यः परेभ्यः प्रयच्छति
athavā satyamevoktaṃ kenāpi ca mahātmanā | kṛpaṇena samo dātā na bhūto na bhaviṣyati | aspṛṣṭvāpi ca vittaṃ svaṃ yaḥ parebhyaḥ prayacchati
یا واقعی کسی مہاتما نے سچ کہا ہے: کنجوس کے برابر کوئی داتا نہ کبھی ہوا ہے نہ ہوگا—جو اپنے مال کو خود بھوگے بغیر ہی دوسروں کے لیے چھوڑ دیتا ہے (یعنی اسے بے کار گنوا دیتا ہے)۔
Narrative voice within Tīrthamāhātmya (contextual speaker not explicit in the excerpt)
Scene: Allegorical scene: a miser guarding locked chests, yet behind him Time (Kāla) or fate silently carries the wealth away toward others; the miser remains untouched by his own riches—paradox made visible.
FAQs
Unused wealth inevitably passes to others; therefore, one should consciously convert wealth into merit through dāna rather than lose it meaninglessly.
No single tīrtha is named; the teaching supports tīrtha-dharma by urging generosity as the proper companion to pilgrimage and worship.
The verse prescribes dāna in principle—directing wealth toward worthy recipients rather than hoarding.