Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33
शीतार्ता यद्वदिच्छंति वह्निं प्रावरणानि च । पितरस्तद्वदिच्छंति क्षुत्सामाश्चन्द्रसंक्षयम्
śītārtā yadvadicchaṃti vahniṃ prāvaraṇāni ca | pitarastadvadicchaṃti kṣutsāmāścandrasaṃkṣayam
Wie die vom Frost Geplagten Feuer und Bedeckungen begehren, so begehren auch die Pitṛs (Ahnen), durch Hunger und Ermattung geschwächt, das Dunkelwerden des Mondes (die Neumondzeit).
Unspecified (didactic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya)
Type: ghat
Listener: Mahārāja (king)
Scene: Split-scene metaphor: on one side, shivering travelers reaching toward a fire and blankets; on the other, ethereal Pitṛs with faint bodies reaching toward offerings under a darkened moon; a riverbank altar connects both.
FAQs
Śrāddha is portrayed as compassionate support to the Pitṛs; amāvāsyā is the moment they especially long for offerings.
The focus is on the pitṛ-kāla (amāvāsyā) within a tirtha-glorifying section; the verse itself does not name a particular site.
Implicitly recommends performing pitṛ offerings/śrāddha at the Moon’s waning (amāvāsyā), when the ancestors are said to be most expectant.