Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18
यथा सुपुत्रमासाद्य तरंति पितरो नृप । कुपुत्रेण तथा यांति नरकं नात्र संशयः
yathā suputramāsādya taraṃti pitaro nṛpa | kuputreṇa tathā yāṃti narakaṃ nātra saṃśayaḥ
أيها الملك، كما أنّ الآباءَ والأجدادَ يعبرون إلى الخير والعوالم العُليا بنيلِ ابنٍ صالح، كذلك بسببِ ابنٍ غيرِ بارٍّ يذهبون إلى الجحيم—لا ريبَ في ذلك.
Narrator (contextual; preceding speaker not explicit in the snippet)
Listener: the King
Scene: Didactic tableau: the queen’s statement evokes two contrasting destinies—ancestors rising with a virtuous son versus falling with an unworthy one—shown symbolically as ascent and descent.
FAQs
A son’s conduct is portrayed as spiritually consequential: virtue supports ancestral uplift, while vice brings ancestral suffering.
This verse is ethical (pitṛ/putra-dharma) rather than naming a specific tīrtha; the Arbuda context later connects merit to pilgrimage and rites.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it states the karmic principle regarding good and bad progeny.