Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53
स्वोदरं भर यः सर्वे पशुपक्षिमृगादयः । स एव धन्यः संसारे यः परार्थोद्यतः सदा
svodaraṃ bhara yaḥ sarve paśupakṣimṛgādayaḥ | sa eva dhanyaḥ saṃsāre yaḥ parārthodyataḥ sadā
Muôn loài—gia súc, chim chóc, thú rừng và các loài khác—đều chỉ lo no bụng mình; nhưng trong cõi đời này, người thật sự phúc đức là kẻ luôn tận tâm vì lợi ích của người khác.
Tapodhana sage (his moral maxim), within Skanda’s Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration (deduced)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame) / audience within narrative
Scene: A didactic tableau: animals and birds feeding themselves in the foreground, contrasted with a human devotee offering food/water to others near a Kāśī ghat, illustrating the verse’s moral contrast.
FAQs
Human life is distinguished from mere survival by parārtha—consistent effort for others’ welfare—making one truly “dhanya” (blessed).
No specific tīrtha is named; the verse contributes to Kāśī’s Mahātmya by teaching the dharma expected in a sacred city.
None explicitly; the prescription is ethical: sustained altruistic action (parārthodyama).