Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16
फलानि भक्ष्यभोज्यं च पक्वान्नानि च षोडश । या प्रदास्यति वै नारी सा तूमैव भविष्यति
phalāni bhakṣyabhojyaṃ ca pakvānnāni ca ṣoḍaśa | yā pradāsyati vai nārī sā tūmaiva bhaviṣyati
سولہ قسم کے پھل، کھانے کی چیزیں، لذیذ خوراک اور پکا ہوا اناج—جو عورت سچے دل سے یہ دان کرے گی وہ تم ہی کی مانند، یعنی میری حالت کو، پا لے گی۔
Gaurī (Pārvatī)
Tirtha: Varadā-Devī at Prabhāsa (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Women devotees/pilgrims (implied)
Scene: A devotional feast-gifting scene: baskets of fruits, trays of sweets, cooked rice and curries arranged in sixteen sets; a woman donor offers with folded hands before Devī, recipients seated in orderly rows in a dharmaśālā near the kṣetra.
FAQs
Generosity in nourishment (anna-dāna) is a direct vehicle of merit; giving sustenance is treated as devotion made tangible.
The broader setting remains Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where these offerings are connected to Varadā Gaurī worship.
Dāna of sixteen categories/items of food—fruits, edibles, cooked dishes—given by a woman as part of the vrata.