Skandapurana 17.13

Sārasvata said: / Having cut through good and evil karma, one should then desire auspicious liberation. / If this cannot be done, then auspicious action must be performed by men.

Rising again and again, one must bathe; Hari and Hara must be worshipped by oneself; / truth must be spoken, beneficial deeds must be done, and gifts must be given according to one's capacity.

One should fear the censure of others and avoid other men's wives, / and avoid the seizure of gold, land, and the property of brahmins and gods. // 3

Toward brahmins, women, kings, children, the elderly, and ascetics, / and toward one's father, mother, and teachers, one should not even mentally say anything displeasing. // 4

Understanding place and time, distinguishing worthy and unworthy recipients; / the shadow of men should not be spoken of, [nor denied] buttermilk, fire, fuel, sour gruel, // 5

medicine, and vegetables—these should be given to supplicants by householders. / On the eleventh, fifteenth, fourteenth, and eighth days, // 6

and on the new moon, vyatīpāta, transit of the sun, eclipses, / vaidhṛti, and on the anniversary of the death of father and mother, // 7

and on the day of the beginning of a yuga or the beginning of a manvantara, a great festival is to be held in the home, / or a journey should be made to a sacred ford, since it bears a hundred times more fruit than at home. // 8

Conquest of the senses must be practiced; one should renounce liquor and gambling. / A householder should diligently avoid dispute, wanderings, and fighting. // 9

Ritual ablution, gifts, muttered prayer, oblation in fire, worship of the gods, and reverence to twice-borns— / all this becomes imperishable if performed according to the rules. // 7.2.13.10

Even a single cow should be given away, adorned with garments and ornaments, / a milch cow, with her calf, young, dedicated to an eminent twice-born. // 11

Having attained the land of Bhārata and an excellent human birth, / blessed is he who gives a cow: that man, piercing the solar disc, / goes in an aerial chariot, accompanied by cows and others. // 12

Even a sinner and vile man here who has committed sins for seven births, / if he alone gives a cow, is freed from all sins. // 13

When, bound, he is led along the path of Yama by the messengers, / then Nandā arrives and looks upon him as her own son. // 14

Overcoming those messengers standing at a distance with merely a bellow, / she takes that giver of a cow and goes to the abode of Śiva. // 15

The bull is said to be Dharma itself; he who releases it is freed. / Among cows, [dedicating them] to all the ancestors, or for the sake of Hara or Hari, // 16

a dwelling is obtained in the city of the Sun or of Brahmā for a day of Brahmā. / Giving to a brahmin on festival days a sturdy, humped, // 17

virtuous, youthful ox, capable of carrying loads and fit for the plow, / that man mounts him and goes to Goloka in the presence of Śiva. // 18

Giving a horse equipped with a saddle cloth and provided with a bridle, / he rejoices in heaven for a day of Brahmā through the power of the king of horses. // 19

From the gift of an elephant, he is led to the Nandana grove by the lord of elephants; / he will become a king on the earth bordered by the ocean. // 7.2.13.20

Giving a house with furnishings to a brahmin householder, / he obtains a celestial aerial chariot in Nandana that grants all desires. // 21

Gold is the supreme substance on earth; if it is given, then the gods rejoice; / the Sun also grants him a radiant aerial chariot, wandering here as long as [the Sun] moves. // 22

Silver is exceedingly dear to the ancestors; by giving it, a man attains purity; / he obtains the world of Soma for as long as the seers remain fixed to the earth. // 23

Having given betel leaves accompanied by sandalwood and camphor, gems, and fruits, / flowers, and garments, he happily goes to the Moon in heaven with multitudes of gods. // 24

He who gives buttermilk, water, oil, clarified butter, milk, sugarcane juice, and honey, / together with dates, sugar candy, grapes, almonds, and figs; // 25

having given darbha grass, unbroken grains, clay, cow dung, dūrvā grass, sacred threads, / sesame, hide, and a solar basket, he becomes famous for a long time in heaven. // 26

If a fourth part of cooked food from one's own meal is given, / that is the hantakāra offering; having given it, he goes surely to the abode of Dhruva. // 27

If a daily portion is given to cows measured to one's own meal, / having given that daily feed to them, a man goes to the abode of the gods. // 28

The sin committed by the mortar, the grinding stone, the hearth, and the broom— / the householder washes away by giving alms every day. // 29

Alms should be the size of a single morsel; where that is given daily, / that house is truly a home; any other appears like a cremation ground. // 7.2.13.30

Having given water-jars filled with water and cooked food, an umbrella, shoes, and a water-pot, / rings and clothes, a man goes to heaven. // 31

Giving a conveyance to the weary, drink to the thirsty, and food to the hungry, O king, / praised by celestial maidens, that man goes to heaven in an aerial chariot. // 32

Food steeped in clarified butter should be given constantly according to one's means, / for the vital breaths consist of it; therefore living beings are nourished. // 33

The torment of hunger is great in the world, and food is remembered as its medicine; / by it, that [torment] comes to peace; therefore excellent food should be given. // 34

Food, clothing, fruit, water, buttermilk, vegetables, clarified butter, honey, / leaves, flowers, likewise shoes, a patched garment, a staff, a water-pot, // 35

an umbrella, a vessel, a vow, knowledge, a rosary, worship of the gods, / a maiden, kuśa grass, sacred threads, seeds, medicines, and houses, // 36

crops, a field, a sacrificial vessel, an ascetic's strap, sandals, / a black antelope skin, the gift of wisdom, and discourse explaining Dharma— // 37

these should now be constantly given; thereby great welfare ensues. / Having destroyed all sins, the giver goes to the abode of Śiva. // 38

At a śrāddha, householders of noble birth who have mastered the Vedas should be fed, / free from anger, devoted to ritual ablution, dedicated to the customs of their own country, // 39

twice-borns who, having been invited the day before, are desireless, / free from greed and illness, but not those who sacrifice for an entire village. // 7.2.13.40

In front of them, the offering of rice-balls must be given according to the rules. / A śrāddha performed without faith becomes as if not done at all. // 41

Therefore, a śrāddha must be performed with faith and free from anger. / A forest-dweller, a celibate student, a traveler, one who serves sacred fords, // 42

[or] a guest at the end of the vaiśvadeva rite should be honored at a śrāddha ceremony; / ascetics should always be honored by householders according to their capacity. // 43

Next I will explain the procedure for pilgrimage along with historical accounts, O best of kings. // 44

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter, entitled “Description of the Greatness of Śrāddha, Gifts, and Other Rites in the Exposition of the Rules for Pilgrimage,” in the second part, the Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skandamahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.