Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22
दश वर्षाणि पञ्चैव तृप्तिं यांति पितामहः । पिंडदानेन दत्तेन पितॄणां तुष्टिमावहेत् । नरके तु स्थितानां च मुक्तिर्भूयान्न संशयः
daśa varṣāṇi pañcaiva tṛptiṃ yāṃti pitāmahaḥ | piṃḍadānena dattena pitṝṇāṃ tuṣṭimāvahet | narake tu sthitānāṃ ca muktirbhūyānna saṃśayaḥ
Die Ahnen (pitāmaha) erlangen für fünfzehn Jahre Zufriedenheit. Durch die Darbringung von Piṇḍas bringt man den Pitṛs Genüge; und selbst für jene, die in der Hölle weilen, wird Befreiung reichlich zuteil—ohne Zweifel.
Īśvara (Śiva) (continuing the fruit of the rite described)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (śrāddha-tīrtha context)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim at Prabhāsa offers rice-balls (piṇḍas) on darbha near a sacred water-edge; subtle ancestral figures receive the offering, with a distant vision of naraka dissolving into light.
FAQs
Compassion extends beyond the living: honoring ancestors through piṇḍadāna is portrayed as a powerful dharmic act with far-reaching spiritual relief.
The Mahākuṇḍa/associated tīrtha-zone in Prabhāsakṣetra, where bathing and ancestral offerings yield extraordinary merit.
Piṇḍadāna (ancestral rice-ball offering), connected with snāna and tarpaṇa at the Mahākuṇḍa, granting long-lasting Pitṛ satisfaction and even release for those in naraka.