Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 84
त्यागो गुणो वित्तवतां वित्तं त्यागवतां गुणः । परस्परवियुक्तौ तु वित्त त्यागौ विडम्बनम्
tyāgo guṇo vittavatāṃ vittaṃ tyāgavatāṃ guṇaḥ | parasparaviyuktau tu vitta tyāgau viḍambanam
مالداروں کے لیے سخاوت ہی اصل فضیلت ہے؛ اور سخی کے لیے مال بھی فضیلت بن جاتا ہے۔ مگر جب دولت اور خیرات ایک دوسرے سے جدا ہو جائیں تو نہ دولت باقی رہتی ہے نہ ترکِ دنیا—دونوں محض تماشا بن جاتے ہیں۔
Narrator (context: Maṇibhadra speaking/being described within the upākhyāna; explicit speaker not marked in this verse)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Allegorical pairing: Wealth (Lakṣmī) and Charity (Tyāga) shown as complementary companions; when separated, both appear diminished and mocked by onlookers.
FAQs
Wealth gains dharmic meaning only when joined to generosity; charity without the capacity to support it and riches without giving are both spiritually hollow.
The setting is the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, where moral instruction supports the praise of the sacred locale.
No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes dāna (charitable giving) as the dharmic use of wealth.