Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 87
ईश्वर उवाच । तपः परं कृतयुगे त्रेतायां ज्ञानमिष्यते । द्वापरे यजनं धन्यं दानमेकं कलौ युगे
īśvara uvāca | tapaḥ paraṃ kṛtayuge tretāyāṃ jñānamiṣyate | dvāpare yajanaṃ dhanyaṃ dānamekaṃ kalau yuge
اِیشور نے فرمایا: کِرت یُگ میں تپسیا سب سے برتر ہے؛ تریتا میں گیان مقرر ہے؛ دواپر میں یَجْیَہ مبارک ہے؛ مگر کَلی یُگ میں صرف دان ہی واحد اعلیٰ راستہ ہے۔
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: Īśvara, as a serene teacher, proclaims the fourfold yuga-dharma sequence; behind him, symbolic vignettes: ascetics in tapas, sages in jñāna discourse, priests at yajña, and householders offering dāna at a tīrtha.
FAQs
The Purāṇic path adapts to the age: in Kali-yuga, compassionate giving (dāna) is taught as the most accessible and effective dharma.
The teaching is situated in Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s māhātmya, framing Prabhāsa as a place where yuga-dharma is explained and practiced.
A yuga-based prescription: prioritize dāna in Kali-yuga (while recognizing tapas, jñāna, and yajña as chief in earlier yugas).