Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 56
प्रतिग्रहसमर्थानां निवृत्तानां प्रतिग्रहात् । य एव ददतां लोकास्त एवाप्रतिगृह्णताम्
pratigrahasamarthānāṃ nivṛttānāṃ pratigrahāt | ya eva dadatāṃ lokāsta evāpratigṛhṇatām
جو لوگ ہدیہ لینے کی قدرت رکھتے ہوئے بھی قبول کرنے سے باز رہتے ہیں—انہیں بھی وہی عوالم ملتے ہیں جو دینے والوں کو حاصل ہوتے ہیں۔
Narrative voice (contextual; speaker not explicit in this verse)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/householders and brāhmaṇas within the narrative audience
Scene: Two parallel scenes: on one side a householder offers gifts at a tīrtha-ghāṭa; on the other a learned ascetic respectfully declines with folded hands. Above them, identical celestial paths/open lotuses indicate equal merit.
FAQs
Purity and restraint in handling gifts is itself meritorious; renunciation can equal the merit of generosity.
No particular sacred site is mentioned directly; the verse teaches dharma within the broader pilgrimage discourse.
It addresses dāna/pratigraha ethics: the virtue of refraining from accepting gifts despite eligibility.