Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
तत्र भाद्रपदे मासि योऽमावास्यामवाप्य च । पितॄन्संतर्पयेद्भक्त्या सोऽश्वमेधफलं लभेत्
tatra bhādrapade māsi yo'māvāsyāmavāpya ca | pitṝnsaṃtarpayedbhaktyā so'śvamedhaphalaṃ labhet
Dort, im Monat Bhādrapada, wer am Neumondtag kommt und in Hingabe die Pitṛs zufriedenstellt, erlangt den Verdienst, der dem Aśvamedha-Opfer gleichkommt.
Sūta (continued narration from Adhyāya 66)
Tirtha: Rāmahrada
Type: kund
Listener: Ṛṣis
Scene: Pilgrims gather at Rāmahrada on amāvāsyā; a householder stands knee-deep at the pond’s edge offering tarpaṇa with cupped hands, while brāhmaṇas sit nearby for śrāddha hospitality; the atmosphere is solemn and devotional.
FAQs
Devotional ancestral offerings at a consecrated tīrtha, performed at the right time, yield immense merit celebrated as equal to great Vedic sacrifices.
The tīrtha context is Rāmahrada (introduced in the prior verse) where this Bhādrapada Amāvāsyā rite is praised.
On Bhādrapada Amāvāsyā, one should perform pitṛ-tarpaṇa with devotion at the tīrtha to gain Aśvamedha-like merit.