[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Skandapurana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda) › 16.207 # Skandapurana 16.207 Skandapurāṇa 16.207 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [16.207.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.1) .. īśvara uvāca .. .. .. īśvara uvāca .. .. ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi śrāddhadānānyanukramāt .. tāraṇāya ca bhūtānāṃ sarasvatyabdhisaṃgame .. 1 .. > Īśvara said: / Īśvara said: / Hereafter I shall explain the gifts for the śrāddha in due order, / For the deliverance of living beings at the confluence of the Sarasvatī and the ocean. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.2) loke śreṣṭhatamaṃ sarvaṃ hyātmanaścāpi yatpriyam .. sarvaṃ pitṝṇāṃ dātavyaṃ tadevākṣayyamicchatām .. 2 .. > Whatever is best in the world, and whatever is dear to oneself, / All that should be given to the ancestors by those desiring imperishable \[rewards\]. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.3) jāṃbūnadamayaṃ divyaṃ vimānaṃ sūryasannibham .. divyāpsarobhiḥ saṃkīrṇamannado labhate'kṣayam .. 3 .. > A celestial aerial chariot made of gold from the Jambu river, resembling the sun, / Crowded with celestial apsarases, imperishable, the giver of food obtains. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.4) ācchādanaṃ tu yo dadyādahataṃ śrāddhakarmaṇi .. āyuḥ prakāśamaiśvaryaṃ rūpaṃ tu labhate ca saḥ .. 4 .. > He who gives uncut clothing in the śrāddha rite / Obtains long life, radiance, lordship, and beauty. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.5) kamaṇḍaluṃ ca yo dadyādbrāhmaṇe vedapārage .. madhukṣīrasravā dhenurdātāramanugacchati .. 5 .. > And he who gives a water pot to a brahmin who has mastered the Veda, / A cow flowing with honey and milk follows that giver. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.6) yaḥ śrāddhe abhayaṃ dadyātprāṇināṃ jīvitaiṣiṇām .. aśvadānasahasreṇa rathadānaśatena ca .. dantināṃ ca sahasreṇa abhayaṃ ca viśiṣyate .. 6 .. > He who gives freedom from fear at a śrāddha to living beings desiring life, / \[Compared\] with the gift of a thousand horses, a hundred chariots, / And a thousand tuskers, the gift of freedom from fear is superior. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.7) yāni ratnāni medinyāṃ vāhanāni striyastathā .. kṣipraṃ prāpnoti tatsarvaṃ pitṛbhaktastu mānavaḥ .. 7 .. > Whatever gems there are on earth, vehicles, and women, / A man devoted to the ancestors swiftly obtains all that. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.8) pitaraḥ sarvalokeṣu tithikāleṣu devatāḥ .. sarve puruṣamāyāṃti nipānamiva dhenavaḥ .. 8 .. > The ancestors, gods in all worlds, at the times of the lunar days, / All approach the man, like cows approaching a water reservoir. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.9) mā sma te pratigaccheyuḥ parvakāle hyapūjitāḥ .. moghāsteṣāṃ bhavantvāśāḥ paratreha ca mā kvacit .. 9 .. > Let them not return unhonoured at the time of the festival! / May their hopes never be in vain, here or in the hereafter. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.10) sarasvatyāstu sānnidhyaṃ yastvekaṃ bhojayeddvijam .. koṭibhojyaphalaṃ tasya jāyate nātra saṃśayaḥ .. 7.1.207.10 .. > He who feeds just one twice-born in the presence of the Sarasvatī, / Gains the fruit of feeding ten million; of this there is no doubt. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.11) amāvāsyāṃ naro yastu parānnamupabhuñjate .. tasya māsakṛtaṃ puṇyamannadātuḥ prajāyate .. 11 .. > The man who eats the food of another on the new moon day— / His merit acquired during the month accrues to the giver of the food. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.12) ṣaṇmāsamayane bhuṃkte trīnmāsānviṣuve smṛtam .. varṣairdvādaśabhiścaiva yatpuṇyaṃ samupārjitam .. tatsarvaṃ vilayaṃ yāti bhuktvā sūryendusaṃplave .. 12 .. > If he eats \[another's food\] at the solstice, \[it consumes the merit of\] six months; at the equinox, it is taught to be three months. / Whatever merit was acquired over twelve years, / All that is lost by eating during a solar or lunar eclipse. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.13) sāgraṃ māsaṃ raveḥ krāntāvādyaśrāddhe trivatsaram .. māsike'pyatha varṣasya ṣaṇmāse tvardhavatsaram .. 13 .. > A full month at the transit of the sun; at the initial śrāddha, three years; / At the monthly rite, a year; at the six-monthly, half a year; > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.14) tathā saṃcayanaśrāddhe jātijanmakṛtaṃ nṛṇām .. mṛta śayyāpratigrāhī vedasyaiva ca vikrayī .. brahmasvahārī ca narastasya śuddhirna vidyate. .. 14 .. > Likewise, at the collection śrāddha, \[the merit\] acquired throughout one's birth and existence is destroyed. / One who accepts the bed of a dead man, one who sells the Veda, / And a man who steals the property of brahmins: for him there is no purification. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.15) taḍāgānāṃ sahasreṇa hyaśvamedhaśatena ca .. gavāṃ koṭi pradānena bhūmihartā na śuddhyati .. 15 .. > Not by a thousand tanks, nor by a hundred horse sacrifices, / Nor by the gift of ten million cows does a stealer of land become purified. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.16) suvarṇamāṣaṃ gāmekāṃ bhūmerapyardhamaṃgulam .. harannarakamāpnoti yāvadābhūtasaṃplavam .. 16 .. > Stealing even a māṣa of gold, a single cow, or half an inch of land, / a man attains hell until the dissolution of all beings. // 16 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.17) brahmahatyā surāpānaṃ daridrasya tu yaddhanam .. guroḥ patnī hiraṇyaṃ ca svargasthamapi pātayet. .. 17 .. > Killing a brahmin, drinking liquor, \[stealing\] the wealth of a poor person, / \[violating\] the guru's wife, and \[stealing\] gold—\[any of these\] causes even one in heaven to fall. // 17 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.18) sahasrasaṃmitā dhenuranaḍvāndaśa dhenavaḥ .. daśānaḍutsamaṃ yānaṃ daśayānasamo hayaḥ .. 18 .. > A cow is worth a thousand \[gifts\]; an ox is worth ten cows; / a vehicle is equal to ten oxen; a horse is equal to ten vehicles; // 18 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.19) daśahayasamā kanyā bhūmidānaṃ tato'dhikam .. tasmātsarvaprayatnena vikrayaṃ naiva kārayet .. 19 .. > a maiden is equal to ten horses; the gift of land is greater than that. / Therefore, by every effort, one must never allow \[land\] to be sold. // 19 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.20) viśeṣato mahākṣetre sarvapātakanāśane .. citikāṣṭhaṃ ca vai spṛṣṭvā yajñayūpāṃstathaiva ca .. vedavikrayakartāraṃ spṛṣṭvā snānaṃ vidhīyate .. 7.1.207.20 .. > Especially in a great sacred field that destroys all sins: / having touched wood from a funeral pyre, or sacrificial posts, / or having touched someone who sells the Veda, a ritual ablution is prescribed. // 7.1.207.20 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.21) ādeśaṃ paṭhate yastu ādeśaṃ ca dadāti yaḥ .. dvāvetau pāpakarmāṇau pātālatalavāsinau .. 21 .. > Whoever recites a royal edict \[for gain\] and whoever gives an edict— / both of these evil-doers are destined to dwell in the depths of Pātāla. // 21 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.22) ādeśaṃ paṭhate yastu rājadvāre tu mānavaḥ .. so'pi devi bhavedvṛkṣa ūṣare kaṃṭakāvṛtaḥ .. sthito vai nṛpatidvāri yaḥ kuryādvedavikrayam ..22.. > The man who recites a royal edict at the king’s gate, / he too, O goddess, becomes a thorn-covered tree in a barren desert— / \[and likewise\] one who stays at the king’s gate and sells the Veda. // 22 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.23) brahmahatyāsamaṃ pāpaṃ na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati .. varaṃ kurvandhruvaṃ devi na kuryādvedavikrayam ..23.. > A sin equal to killing a brahmin has never existed nor ever will. / It would be better to commit \[other wrongs\], O goddess, but one must certainly never sell the Veda. // 23 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.24) hatvā gāśca varaṃ māṃsaṃ bhakṣayīta dvijādhamaḥ .. varaṃ jīvetsamaṃ mlecchairna kuryādvedavikrayam .. 24 .. > It would be better for the lowest of the twice-born to slaughter cows and eat their meat; / it would be better to live among the barbarians, rather than sell the Veda. // 24 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.25) pratyakṣoktiḥ pratyayaśca praśnapūrvaḥ pratigrahaḥ .. yājanā'dhyāpane vādaḥ ṣaḍvidho vedavikrayaḥ .. 25 .. > A direct demand, an assurance, acceptance following inquiry, / bargaining over officiating or over teaching—selling the Veda is of six kinds. // 25 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.26) vedākṣarāṇi yāvanti niyuṃkte svārthakāraṇāt .. tāvatīrbhrūṇahatyā vai prāpnuyādvedavikrayī .. 26 .. > For as many syllables of the Veda as he employs for selfish purposes, / indeed, so many murders of an embryo does the seller of the Veda incur. // 26 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.27) vedānuyogādyo dadyādbrāhmaṇāya pratigraham .. sa pūrvaṃ narakaṃ yāti brāhmaṇastadanantaram .. 27 .. > Whoever gives an offering to a brahmin on account of \[his\] recitation of the Veda, / he goes to hell first, and the brahmin immediately after. // 27 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.28) vaiśvadevena hīnā ye hīnāścātithyato'pi ye .. karmaṇā sarvavṛṣalā vedayuktā hyapi dvijāḥ .. 28 .. > Those who are destitute of the vaiśvadeva rite and those who lack hospitality to guests, / are by their conduct entirely Śūdras, even if they are twice-born endowed with the Veda. // 28 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.29) yeṣāmadhyayanaṃ nāsti ye ca kecidanagnayaḥ .. kulaṃ vā'śrotriyaṃ yeṣāṃ te sarve śūdrajātayaḥ .. 29 .. > Those who do not study, those who keep no sacred fire, / or those whose family is unlearned in the Veda—they all have the status of Śūdras. // 29 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.30) mṛte'hani pituryastu na kuryācchrāddhamādarāt .. mātuścaiva varārohe sa dvijaḥ śūdrasaṃnibhaḥ .. 7.1.207.30 .. > He who does not perform with devotion the śrāddha on the anniversary of the father's death, / or of the mother's, O fair-hipped goddess, that twice-born is equal to a Śūdra. // 7.1.207.30 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.31](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.31) mṛtake yastu bhuñjīta gṛhītaśaśibhāskare .. gajacchāyāsu yaḥ kaścittaṃ ca śūdravadācaret .. 31 .. > He who eats during a period of death-impurity, or during an eclipse of the moon or sun, / or at an elephant's shadow—one should treat him as a Śūdra. // 31 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.32](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.32) brahmacāriṇi yajñe ca yatau śilpini dīkṣite .. yajñe vivāhe satre ca sūtakaṃ na kadācana .. 32 .. > For a celibate student, at a sacrifice, for an ascetic, for an artisan, for an initiated person, / at a sacrificial rite, at a marriage, and at a long sacrificial session, there is never ritual impurity. // 32 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.33](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.33) gorakṣakānvaṇijakāṃstathā kārukuśīlavān .. spṛśyānvārdhuṣikāṃścaiva viprānśūdravadācaret .. 33 .. > Cowherds, traders, artisans, bards, / and usurers—even if they are brahmins, one should treat them as Śūdras. // 33 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.34](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.34) brāhmaṇaḥ patanīyeṣu vartamāno vikarmasu .. dāmbhiko duṣkṛtaprāyaḥ sa ca śūdrasamaḥ smṛtaḥ .. 34 .. > A brahmin who engages in degrading misdeeds, / hypocritical and full of evil deeds, is considered equal to a Śūdra. // 34 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.35) asnātāśī malaṃ bhuṃkte ajāpī pūyaśoṇitam .. ahutvā tu kṛmīnbhuṃkte adattvā viṣabhojanam .. 35 .. > One who eats without having bathed eats filth; one who recites no prayers \[eats\] pus and blood; / one who eats without offering into the fire eats worms; one who eats without giving \[to others\] eats poison. // 35 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.36) parānnena tu bhuktena mithunaṃ yo'dhigacchati .. yasyānnaṃ tasya te putrā annācchukraṃ pravartate .. 36 .. > If someone unites with a woman after eating another's food, / the sons belong to him whose food it was, for semen arises from food. // 36 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.37](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.37) rājānnaṃ teja ādatte śūdrānnaṃ brahmavarcasam .. āyuḥ suvarṇakārānnaṃ yaśaścarmāvakartinaḥ .. 37 .. > The food of a king takes away brilliance; the food of a Śūdra takes away spiritual radiance; / the food of a goldsmith takes away lifespan; that of a leather-cutter takes away fame. // 37 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.38](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.38) kārukānnaṃ prajā hanti balaṃ nirṇejakasya ca .. gaṇānnaṃ gaṇikānnaṃ ca lokebhyaḥ parikṛntati .. 38 .. > The food of an artisan destroys offspring; that of a washerman destroys strength; / the food of a guild and the food of a courtesan cut one off from the heavenly worlds. // 38 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.39](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.39) pūyaṃ cikitsakasyānnaṃ puṃścalyāstvannamindriyam .. viṣṭhā vārdhuṣikasyānnaṃ śastravikrayiṇo malam .. 39 .. > The food of a physician is pus; the food of an unchaste woman is sexual fluid; / the food of a usurer is excrement; that of an arm-seller is dirt. // 39 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.40](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.40) gāyatrīsāramātro'pi varaṃ vipraḥ suyantritaḥ .. nāyaṃtritaścaturvedī sarvāśī sarvavikrayī .. 7.1.207.40 .. > Better is a well-controlled brahmin whose only knowledge is the essence of the Gāyatrī, / than an uncontrolled knower of the four Vedas who eats everything and sells everything. // 7.1.207.40 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.41](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.41) sadyaḥ patati māṃsena lākṣayā lavaṇena ca .. tryaheṇa śūdro bhavati brāhmaṇaḥ kṣīravikrayāt .. 41 .. > \[A brahmin\] falls instantly through \[selling\] meat, lac, and salt; / through selling milk, a brahmin becomes a Śūdra in three days. // 41 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.42](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.42) rasā rasairniyaṃtavyā na tveva lavaṇaṃ rasaiḥ .. kṛtānnaṃ ca kṛtānnena tilā dhānyena tatsamāḥ .. 42 .. > Liquids may be exchanged for liquids, but never salt for liquids; / cooked food \[may be exchanged\] for cooked food, and sesame seeds for their equal in grain. // 42 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.43](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.43) bhojanābhyañjanāddānādyadanyatkurute tilaiḥ .. kṛmibhūtaḥ sa viṣṭhāyāṃ pitṛbhiḥ saha majjati .. 43 .. > Whatever else one does with sesame seeds other than eating, anointing, or giving them away, / he sinks into excrement along with his ancestors, turning into a worm. // 43 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.44](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.44) apūpaśca hiraṇyaṃ ca gāmaśvaṃ pṛthivīṃ tilān .. avidvānpratigṛhṇāti bhasmībhavati kāṣṭhavat ..44.. > If an ignorant man accepts cakes, gold, / a cow, a horse, land, or sesame seeds, he turns to ashes like wood. // 44 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.45](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.45) hiraṇyamāyu ratnaṃ ca bhūrgauścākarṣatastanum .. aśvaścakṣustvacaṃ vāso ghṛtaṃ tejastilāḥ prajāḥ .. 45 .. tila > Gold and jewels \[destroy\] longevity; land and a cow drain the physical body; / a horse takes away sight; cloth takes away the skin; ghee takes away brilliance; sesame seeds take away offspring. // 45 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.46](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.46) agnihotrī tapasvī ca kṣaṇavānkriyate yadi .. agnihotraṃ tapaścaiva sarvaṃ taddhanino dhanam .. 46 .. > If a keeper of the sacred fire and an ascetic is hired for an occasion, / all his fire offerings and austerity become the property of the rich employer. // 46 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.47](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.47) somavikrayaṇe viṣṭhā bheṣaje pūyaśoṇitam .. naṣṭaṃ devalake dānaṃ hyapratiṣṭhaṃ ca vārdhuke .. 47 .. > In the selling of soma is excrement; in medicine, pus and blood; / a gift given to a temple priest is wasted, and \[a gift given\] to a usurer brings no foundation. // 47 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.48](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.48) devārcanaparo vipro vittārthī bhuvanatraye .. asau devalakonāma havyakavyeṣu garhitaḥ .. 48 .. > A brahmin devoted to the worship of gods for the sake of wealth in the three worlds / is called a devalaka; he is condemned in rites for gods and ancestors. // 48 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.49](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.49) bhrāturmṛtasyabhāyāyāṃ yo gacchetkāmapūrvakam .. dharmeṇāpi niyuktāyāṃ sa jñeyo didhiṣūpatiḥ .. 49 .. > He who approaches the wife of his deceased brother out of lust, / even if appointed according to law, is known as a didhiṣūpati. // 49 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.50](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.50) dārāgnihotrasaṃyogaṃ kurute yo'graje sthite .. parivettā sa vijñeyaḥ parivittistu pūrvajaḥ .. 7.1.207.50 .. > He who takes a wife and establishes the sacred fires while his elder brother remains \[unmarried\] / should be known as a parivettā, and the elder brother as a parivitti. // 7.1.207.50 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.51](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.51) yo naro'nyasya vāsāṃsi kūpodyānagṛhāṇi ca .. adattānyupayuṃjānaḥ sa tatpāpaturīyabhāk .. 51 .. > A man who uses the clothes, wells, gardens, and houses / of another without permission partakes of a fourth of his sins. // 51 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.52](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.52) āmantritastu yaḥ śrāddhe vṛṣalyā saha modate .. dāturyadduṣkṛtaṃ kiñcittatsarvaṃ pratipadyate .. 52 .. > One who, having been invited to a śrāddha, enjoys himself with a Śūdra woman, / incurs all whatever evil deed belongs to the donor. // 52 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.53](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.53) ṛtāmṛtābhyāṃ jīveta mṛtena pramṛtena vā .. satyānṛtābhyāṃ jīveta na śvavṛttyā kathaṃcana .. 53 .. > One may live by ṛta and amṛta, or by mṛta and pramṛta, / or one may live by satyānṛta, but by a dog's livelihood under no circumstance. // 53 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.54](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.54) bhakṣyaṃ nityamṛtaṃ jñeyamamṛtaṃ syādayācitam .. mṛtaṃ tu vṛddhyājīvitvaṃ pramṛtaṃ karṣaṇaṃ smṛtam .. 54 .. > Gleaned grain is to be known as ṛta; what is unasked for is amṛta; / living by usury is mṛta; agriculture is remembered as pramṛta. // 54 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.55](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.55) satyānṛtaṃ ca vāṇijyaṃ tena caivopajīvyate .. sevā śvavṛttirākhyātā tasmāttāṃ parivarjayeta .. 55 .. > Trade is satyānṛta, and one may sustain oneself by that too; / servitude is called a dog's livelihood, therefore one should avoid it. // 55 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.56](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.56) viprayoniṃ samāsādya saṃkaraṃ parivarjayet .. mānuṣyaṃ durlabhaṃ loke brāhmaṇyamadhikaṃ tataḥ .. 56 .. > Having attained birth as a brahmin, one should avoid mixture; / human birth is difficult to obtain in the world, and brahminhood even more so. // 56 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.57](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.57) ekaśayyāsanaṃ paktirbhāṇḍapakvānnamiśraṇam .. yājanādhyāpanaṃ yonistathā ca saha bhojanam .. navadhā saṃkaraḥ prokto na kartavyo'dhamaiḥ saha .. 57 .. > Sharing a bed or seat, eating in a common line, mixing pots and cooked food, / officiating at sacrifices, teaching, intermarriage, and dining together— / this mixture is declared to be of nine kinds; it must not be done with degraded persons. // 57 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.58](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.58) ajīvankarmaṇā svena vipraḥ kṣāttraṃ samāśrayet .. vaiśyakarmā'thavā kuryādvārṣalaṃ parivarjayet .. 58 .. > If unable to make a living by his own occupation, a brahmin may take up that of a kṣatriya, / or he may perform the work of a vaiśya; but he must avoid that of a Śūdra. // 58 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.59](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.59) kusīdaṃ kṛṣivāṇijyaṃ prakurvīta svayaṃ kṛtam .. āpatkāle svayaṃ kurvansnānena spṛśyate dvijaḥ .. ..59.. > He may himself engage in moneylending, agriculture, and commerce. / Engaging in them himself in times of distress, the twice-born is purified by ritual ablution. // 59 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.60](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.60) labdhalābhaḥ pitṝndevānbrāṃhmaṇāṃścaiva tarpayet .. te tṛptāstasya tatpāpaṃ śamayaṃti na saṃśayaḥ ..7.1.207.60.. > Having obtained profit, he should satisfy the ancestors, the gods, and brahmins; / they, being satisfied, dispel that sin of his; there is no doubt. // 60 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.61](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.61) jalagośakaṭārāmayāñcāvṛddhivaṇikkriyāḥ .. anūpaṃ parvato rājā durbhikṣe jīvikā smṛtāḥ .. 61 .. > Water, cattle, carts, orchards, begging, usury, and trade activities, / marshland, mountains, and the king are declared to be means of livelihood during a famine. // 61 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.62](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.62) asato'pi samādāya sādhubhyo yaḥ prayacchati .. dhanaṃ svāminamātmānaṃ saṃtārayati dustarāt .. 62 .. > Whoever takes wealth even from an unworthy person and gives it to the virtuous, / delivers its owner and himself from what is difficult to cross. // 62 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.63](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.63) śūdre samaguṇaṃ dānaṃ vaiśye taddviguṇaṃ smṛtam .. śrotriye tacca sāhasramanantaṃ cāgnihotrike .. 63 .. > A gift to a Śūdra brings equal merit; to a Vaiśya, it is taught to be twofold; / to a scholar of the Veda, it is a thousandfold; and to an Agnihotrin, it is infinite. // 63 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.64](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.64) brāhmaṇātikramo nāsti nācaredyo vyavasthitim .. jvalaṃtamagnimutsṛjya na hi bhasmani hūyate .. 64 .. > There is no bypassing a brahmin; one should not violate proper order: / bypassing a blazing fire, one does not indeed offer an oblation into ashes. // 64 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.65](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.65) vidyātapobhyāṃ hīnena naiva grāhyaḥ pratigrahaḥ .. gṛhṇanpradātāramadho nayatyātmānameva ca .. 65 .. > A gift should never be accepted by one devoid of learning and austerity; / accepting it, he drags both the giver and himself downward. // 65 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.66](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.66) tasmācchrotriya evārho guṇavāñchīlavāñchuciḥ .. avyaṃgastatra nirdoṣaḥ pātrāṇāṃ paramaṃ smṛtam .. 66 .. > Therefore, only a scholar of the Veda is worthy—virtuous, of good character, pure, / free of bodily defect, and faultless; this is taught to be the highest among recipients. // 66 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.67](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.67) kapālasthaṃ yathā toyaṃ śvadṛtau ca yathā payaḥ .. dūṣitaṃ sthānadoṣeṇa vṛttahīne tathā śrutam .. 67 .. > Just as water kept in a skull or milk in a dog's skin / is contaminated by the fault of the vessel, so is Vedic knowledge in one lacking right conduct. // 67 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.68](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.68) dattaṃ pātramatikramya yadapātre pratigrahaḥ .. taddattaṃ gāmatikramya gardabhasya gavāhnikam .. 68 .. > When a gift is accepted by an unworthy recipient, bypassing a worthy recipient, / that gift is like giving daily fodder to a donkey, bypassing a cow. // 68 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.69](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.69) vṛttaṃ tasmāttu saṃrakṣedvittameti gataṃ punaḥ .. akṣīṇo vittataḥ kṣīṇo vṛttatastu hato hataḥ .. 69 .. > Therefore, one should preserve conduct; wealth comes and goes again. / One depleted of wealth is not truly ruined, but one ruined in conduct is utterly destroyed. // 69 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.70](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.70) prathamaṃ tu gurau dānaṃ dattvā śreṣṭhamanukramāt .. tato'nyeṣāṃ tu viprāṇāṃ dadyātpātrānurūpataḥ .. 7.1.207.70 .. > First giving the highest gift to the guru in due order, / he should then give to other brahmins according to their worthiness as recipients. // 70 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.71](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.71) gurau ca dattaṃ yaddānaṃ dattaṃ pātreṣu mānavaiḥ .. niṣphalaṃ tadbhavetpretya yātyutādhogatiṃ prati .. 71 .. > When men have given to other recipients a gift that was \[meant to be\] given to the guru, / that \[gift\] becomes fruitless after death, or rather leads to a downward state. // 71 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.72](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.72) avamānaṃ guroḥ kṛtvā kopayitvā tu durmatiḥ .. gurvamānahato mūḍho na śāṃtimadhi gacchati .. 72 .. > A fool who dishonors his guru and angers him, / struck down by disrespect to his guru, does not attain peace. // 72 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.73](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.73) gurorabhāve tatputraṃ tadbhāryāṃ tatsutaṃ vinā .. putraṃ prapautraṃ dauhitraṃ hyanyaṃ vā tatkulodbhavam .. 73 .. > In the absence of the guru, \[one should give to\] his son; failing his son, to his wife; / or to his grandson, great-grandson, daughter's son, or another born in his family. // 73 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.74](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.74) paṃcayojanamadhye tu śrūyate svagururyadā .. tadā nātikrameddānaṃ dadyātpātreṣu mānavaḥ .. 74 .. > When one's own guru is heard to be within five yojanas, / then a person should not pass him over to give a gift to \[other\] recipients. // 74 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.75](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.75) yatiścetprārthayellobhāddīyamānaṃ pratigraham .. na tasya deyaṃ vidvadbhirna lobhaḥ śasyate yateḥ .. 75 .. > If an ascetic, out of greed, begs for an offering being given, / it should not be given to him by the wise; greed in an ascetic is not praised. // 75 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.76](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.76) dhanaṃ prāpya yatirloke maunaṃ jñānaṃ ca nābhyaset .. upabhogaṃ tu dānena jīvitaṃ brahmacaryayā .. 76 .. > An ascetic should not practice silence and knowledge in the world having acquired wealth, / nor worldly enjoyment through giving, nor a livelihood through celibacy. // 76 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.77](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.77) kule janma ca dīkṣābhirye gatāste narottamāḥ.. saubhāgyamāpnuyālloke nūnaṃ rasavivarjanāt..77.. > Those who have attained birth in a \[noble\] family and \[proper\] initiations are the best of men; / one certainly attains good fortune in the world by refraining from dainty foods. // 77 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.78](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.78) āyuṣmatyaḥ prajāḥ sarvā bhavantyāmiṣavarjanāt..78.. > All one's offspring become long-lived by abstaining from meat. // 78 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.79](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.79) cīravalkaladhṛktyaktvā vastrāṇyābharaṇāni ca.. nāgādhipatyaṃ prāpnoti upavāsena mānavaḥ..79.. > Discarding clothes and ornaments and wearing rags and bark, / a person attains lordship over serpents by fasting. // 79 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.80](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.80) krīḍate satyavākyena svarge vai devataiḥ saha.. ahiṃsayā tathā''rogyaṃ dānātkīrtimanukramāt..7.1.207.80.. > By truthful speech one disports with the gods in heaven; / likewise, by non-violence one gains health, and by giving one gains fame in due order. // 80 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.81](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.81) dvijaśuśrūṣayā rājyaṃ dvijatvaṃ cātipuṣkalam.. divyarūpamavāpnoti devaśuśrūṣayā naraḥ..81.. > Through service to the twice-born a person attains kingship and bountiful brahminhood; / through service to the gods he attains a divine form. // 81 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.82](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.82) annadānādbhavettṛptiḥ sarvakāmairanuttamaiḥ .. dīpasya tu pradānena cakṣuṣmāñjāyate naraḥ .. 82 .. > Satisfaction with all unsurpassed desires arises from the gift of food; / by the offering of a lamp, a person is born with good vision. // 82 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.83](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.83) tuṣṭirbhavetsarvakālaṃ pradānādgandhamālyayoḥ .. lavaṇasya tu dātārastilānāṃ sarpiṣastathā .. tejasvino'pi jāyante bhoginaścirajīvinaḥ .. 83 .. > Everlasting contentment comes from giving perfumes and garlands; / givers of salt, sesame seeds, and clarified butter / are born splendid, full of enjoyment, and long-lived. // 83 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.84](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.84) sucitravastrābharaṇopadhānaṃ dadyānnaro yaḥ śayanaṃ dvijāya .. rūpānvitāṃ pakṣmavatīṃ manojñāṃ bhāryāmarālopacitāṃ labhetsaḥ .. 84 .. > The man who gives a twice-born a bed with cushions and colorful garments and ornaments / obtains an attractive wife endowed with beauty, fine eyelashes, and rich curly hair. // 84 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [16.207.207](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207.207) iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ saptame prabhāsakhaṇḍe prathame prabhāsakṣetramāhātmye śrāddhakalpe pātrāpātravicāravarṇanaṃnāma saptottaradviśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ .. 207 .. > Thus ends the two hundred and seventh chapter, entitled "Discussion of Worthy and Unworthy Recipients in the Rules of Śrāddha," in the first \[part\], the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh \[section\], the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 207 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.16.207.1) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (16) - [Mānava Dharmaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu.10.91) — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit - [Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra (ed. G. Bühler)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.vedanga.kalpa.dharma.vasistha*buhler.2.30) — Sanskrit - [Abdhinauyānamīmāṃsā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mimamsa.abdhinauyanamimamsa.7.1.7.p5) — Sanskrit - [Gṛhastharatnākara](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.acara.ahnika.grhastharatnakara.21.p37) — Caṇḍeśvara, Sanskrit - [Smṛtimuktāphala](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.smrtimuktaphala.7.123.6) — Vaidyanātha Dīkṣita 1575, Sanskrit - [Gadādharapaddhati](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.gadadharapaddhati.21.p108) — Gadādhara Rājaguru 1725, Sanskrit - [Kālasāra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.astro.muhurta.kala.kalasara.18.p115) — Nārāyaṇa Jyotirvit, Sanskrit - [Kālasāra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.kala.kalasara.18.p115) — Gadādhara (Pāraskara commentator), Sanskrit - [Śrāddhadīpa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.sraddha.sraddhadipa.8.477) — Divyasiṃha Mahāpātra 1640, Sanskrit - [Smṛtiviveka](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.smrtiviveka.9.7) — Śūlapāṇi, Sanskrit - [Smṛtīnāṃ Samuccayaḥ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.upasmrti.smrtisamuccaya.71.35) — Sanskrit - [Bārhaspatyasaṃhitā (Aṅgiras)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.astro.samhita.rsi.barhaspatyasamhita.33.2) — Aṅgiras, Sanskrit - [Caturvargacintāmaṇi](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.caturvargacintamani.181.p26) — Hemādri, Sanskrit - [Ṣoḍaśamahādānavidhi (Hemādri)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.dana.mahadana.sodasamahadanavidhi-hemadri.181.p26) — Hemādri, Sanskrit - [Dānakhaṇḍa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.hemadri.danakhanda.185.p87) — Hemādri, Sanskrit - [Śrāddhacandrikā (Divākarabhaṭṭa)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.sraddha.sraddhacandrika.2.p98) — Divākarabhaṭṭa 1655, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.16.207) · Pramāṇa