Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5
कार्त्तिक्यां तु विशेषेण अयने चोत्तरेपि वा । विद्यादानं च तत्रैव दद्याद्विप्राय शालिने
kārttikyāṃ tu viśeṣeṇa ayane cottarepi vā | vidyādānaṃ ca tatraiva dadyādviprāya śāline
خصوصاً ماہِ کارتک میں—یا پھر اُترایَن کے زمانے میں—وہیں علم کا دان کرنا چاہیے، اور اسے کسی لائق، باوقار و باانضباط برہمن کو عطا کرنا چاہیے۔
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in this verse)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa Mahākṣetra (Lakulīśa-sthāna)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Pilgrims at Prabhāsa offer manuscripts, palm-leaf bundles, and teaching implements to a disciplined brāhmaṇa/ācārya; Kārttika lamps glow; the sun’s northward course is symbolized by a bright arc in the sky.
FAQs
Charity aligned with sacred time and sacred place—especially the gifting of knowledge—multiplies merit and supports dharma.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra is implied as the ‘there itself’ (tatraiva) where the dāna is to be performed.
Vidyā-dāna to a śālin (well-conducted) brāhmaṇa, particularly in Kārttika or during uttarāyaṇa.