Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36
अग्निष्वात्ताः पितृगणास्तथा बर्हिषदश्च ये । तत्र संनिहिता नित्यमाज्यपाः सोमपास्तथा
agniṣvāttāḥ pitṛgaṇāstathā barhiṣadaśca ye | tatra saṃnihitā nityamājyapāḥ somapāstathā
অগ্নিষ্বাত্ত নামে পিতৃগণ এবং বর্হিষদ পিতৃগণ, তদ্রূপ আজ্যপ ও সোমপ পিতৃগণ—তাঁরা সকলেই সেখানে নিত্য সর্বদা সন্নিহিত থাকেন।
Sūta (doctrinal/mahatmya assertion)
Tirtha: Pitṛkūpikā (implied)
Type: kund
Scene: An unseen, sanctified landscape around a sacred well/tīrtha, with subtle, luminous presences of ancestral beings—Agniṣvāttas, Barhiṣads, Ājyapas, Somapas—hovering as if receiving offerings.
FAQs
A true pitṛ-tīrtha is defined by divine presence: the ancestral hosts are said to abide there, making offerings especially effective.
The same pitṛ-focused tīrtha (Kṛtaghna-preta-tīrtha / kūpikā site) where pitṛ-gaṇas are declared perpetually present.
While not a step-by-step rule, the verse provides the theological basis for śrāddha there: pitṛ hosts (Agniṣvātta, Barhiṣad, etc.) are continually in attendance.