Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 150
करंधम उवाच । पितृभ्यो दीयते श्राद्धं स्वकर्मवशगाश्च ते । स्वर्गस्था नरकस्था वा कथं तैरुपभुज्यते
karaṃdhama uvāca | pitṛbhyo dīyate śrāddhaṃ svakarmavaśagāśca te | svargasthā narakasthā vā kathaṃ tairupabhujyate
Karaṃdhama said: “Śrāddha is offered to the Pitṛs, yet they are bound by their own karma. Whether they abide in heaven or in hell—how can they partake of what is offered by us?”
Karaṃdhama
Scene: King Karaṃdhama respectfully questions a sage: a śrāddha setup is visible, while imagined realms of svarga and naraka appear as contrasting vignettes, highlighting the doubt about access.
FAQs
It raises a dharmic doubt: if beings are bound by karma and located in different realms, the mechanism of Śrāddha’s efficacy must be understood through Purāṇic cosmology.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the general Purāṇic doctrine of Śrāddha and Pitṛ-satisfaction.
Śrāddha (ancestral offering) is referenced as a rite performed for the Pitṛs.