Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 53
किं तेन ननु जातेन कुलांगारेण पापिना । यस्मिञ्जीवत्यवि निजाः पितरोऽन्यस्पृहाकराः
kiṃ tena nanu jātena kulāṃgāreṇa pāpinā | yasmiñjīvatyavi nijāḥ pitaro'nyaspṛhākarāḥ
Was nützt die Geburt jenes Sünders, „der glühenden Kohle, die das Geschlecht verbrennt“? Denn noch zu seinen Lebzeiten werden seine eigenen Väter‑Ahnen dazu getrieben, Hilfe von anderen zu ersehnen.
Narrator (same episode; speaker not explicitly named in this snippet)
Scene: A stark moral tableau: a negligent descendant portrayed as a ‘smoldering ember’ to the lineage, while pitṛs appear faint and yearning, looking toward others for aid—an image of shame and urgency.
FAQs
A life that ignores duties to ancestors becomes a disgrace to lineage; dharma is measured by responsibility, not mere birth.
No site is directly praised in this verse; it strengthens the ethical urgency behind going to the tīrtha mentioned earlier.
No new rite is specified here; it censures failure to perform ancestral offerings that keep Pitṛs satisfied.