Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
आनर्त उवाच । त्रयोदश्यां कृते श्राद्धे कस्माद्वंशक्षयो भवेत् । एतन्मे सर्वमाचक्ष्व विस्तरात्त्वं महा मुने । भर्तृयज्ञ उवाच । एषा मेध्यतमा राजन्युगादिः कलिसंभवा । स्नाने दाने जपे होमे श्राद्धे ज्ञेया तथाऽक्षया
ānarta uvāca | trayodaśyāṃ kṛte śrāddhe kasmādvaṃśakṣayo bhavet | etanme sarvamācakṣva vistarāttvaṃ mahā mune | bhartṛyajña uvāca | eṣā medhyatamā rājanyugādiḥ kalisaṃbhavā | snāne dāne jape home śrāddhe jñeyā tathā'kṣayā
König Ānarta sprach: „Wenn das Śrāddha am Trayodaśī vollzogen wird, weshalb sollte dann ein Niedergang der Linie eintreten? Lege mir dies alles ausführlich dar, o großer Weiser.“ Bhartṛyajña sprach: „O König, dieser Tag ist der reinigendste, ein zeitalteröffnender Tag, der im Kali-Yuga hervorgeht. Beim heiligen Bad, beim Almosengeben, beim Japa, beim Homa und beim Śrāddha soll er als ‘Akṣayā’ erkannt werden — als die unvergängliche, fruchtspendende Tithi.“
Dialogue: King Ānarta; Sage Bhartṛyajña
Listener: King Ānarta
Scene: A king (Ānarta) respectfully questions a seated sage (Bhartṛyajña) about Trayodaśī-śrāddha; ritual items—kuśa grass, water-pot, sesame, fire-altar—suggest snāna/dāna/japa/homa/śrāddha as a unified dharma-day.
FAQs
Ritual timing in the lunar calendar matters in Purāṇic dharma, and certain tithis are praised as ‘akṣaya’—yielding lasting merit.
The teaching occurs within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya framework, though the verse focuses on tithi-glory rather than naming a tīrtha.
Trayodaśī is identified as highly purifying and ‘akṣayā’ for snāna, dāna, japa, homa, and Śrāddha.