Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 18
अनेकनरकस्थाश्च तिर्यग्योनिगताश्च ये । सकृत्पिंडप्रदानेन स्यात्ते षामक्षया गतिः
anekanarakasthāśca tiryagyonigatāśca ye | sakṛtpiṃḍapradānena syātte ṣāmakṣayā gatiḥ
حتى الذين يقيمون في جحيمٍ بعد جحيم، والذين سقطوا في مواليد البهائم—بمجرد تقديم بِنْدا (piṇḍa) مرةً واحدة، تكون لهم نجاةٌ باقية لا تفنى.
Śiva (continuing instruction in the episode-context)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya-tīrtha (pitṛ-rite locus implied)
Type: ghat
Listener: Devas / pilgrims-by-extension
Scene: A devotee offers a single piṇḍa at the water’s edge; from the offering rises a luminous path lifting shadowy figures from hellish darkness and animal forms toward a bright, stable realm—visualizing ‘akṣayā gati’.
FAQs
Compassion expressed through ancestral offerings can generate lasting benefit, reaching even those in extreme states of suffering.
Dharmāraṇya is upheld as a potent setting where piṇḍadāna yields far-reaching, enduring results.
Even a single piṇḍa offering (sakṛt piṇḍapradāna) is stated to confer akṣaya-gati for the recipients.