Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
ब्राह्मणा ऊचुः । पितरः श्राद्धकामा ये वृद्धिं पश्यंति वा नृप । ते स्वप्ने दर्शनं यांति पुत्राणामिति नः श्रुतम्
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ | pitaraḥ śrāddhakāmā ye vṛddhiṃ paśyaṃti vā nṛpa | te svapne darśanaṃ yāṃti putrāṇāmiti naḥ śrutam
ব্ৰাহ্মণসকলে ক’লে: “হে নৃপ! আমি শুনিছোঁ—যেতিয়া পিতৃগণে শ্রাদ্ধ কামনা কৰে, অথবা বৃদ্ধি-সমৃদ্ধি দেখে, তেতিয়া তেওঁলোকে পুত্ৰসকলক স্বপ্নত দর্শন দিয়ে।”
Brahmins
Tirtha: Kūpikā-tīrtha where Gayā is said to abide (as per next verse)
Type: kund
Listener: King (nṛpa; Raghu-line implied)
Scene: A council of brāhmaṇas addresses a king, explaining that ancestors appear in dreams when desiring śrāddha or witnessing prosperity; the mood is solemn, intimate, and instructive.
FAQs
Dream-appearance of ancestors is treated as a dharmic संकेत—often indicating the need for śrāddha and the strengthening of lineage-duty (pitṛ-ṛṇa).
The teaching is delivered within the Pitṛkūpikā episode, implying that this tīrtha is especially potent for pitṛ-related rites and signs.
Śrāddha is indicated as the appropriate response when ancestors ‘desire śrāddha’ and reveal themselves through dreams.