Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 77
श्राद्धं गंगार्णवे चात्र मत्पितॄणां त्वमाचर । अहं चैवापि तपसः संचितस्यापि जन्मना । चतुर्भागं प्रदास्यामि एवमेवैतदाचर
śrāddhaṃ gaṃgārṇave cātra matpitṝṇāṃ tvamācara | ahaṃ caivāpi tapasaḥ saṃcitasyāpi janmanā | caturbhāgaṃ pradāsyāmi evamevaitadācara
Here, at Gaṅgārṇava, perform the śrāddha for my Pitṛs, my ancestors. And I shall grant you a fourth part of the merit of my tapas, the austerities I have amassed over this lifetime. Do so indeed—carry it out exactly.
Devaśarman
Tirtha: Gaṅgārṇava
Type: tirtha
Listener: Nārada (addressed later in the sequence)
Scene: At Gaṅgārṇava’s sacred waters, a sage instructs a devotee to perform pitṛ-śrāddha; the atmosphere is ritualistic—kuśa grass, piṇḍas, water-offerings, and a solemn promise of sharing tapas-merit (one-fourth).
FAQs
Pitṛ-dharma performed at a sacred Gaṅgā tīrtha brings great benefit, and spiritual merit can be shared through righteous intention.
Gaṅgārṇava, a Gaṅgā-associated sacred place where śrāddha for ancestors is prescribed.
Perform śrāddha for the speaker’s ancestors at Gaṅgārṇava; the speaker promises one-fourth of his accumulated tapas-merit in return.