Adhyaya 218
Chapter 218 functions as a technical and ethical manual for performing śrāddha, cast as Bhartṛyajña’s instruction to a king. It restates general śrāddha norms and then promises a more detailed account according to one’s own ritual branch and what is suitable to place, varṇa, and jāti (svadeśa–varṇa–jāti). It defines śraddhā—sincere, faithful intent—as the very foundation of śrāddha, insisting that without it the rite becomes fruitless. The chapter explains that even incidental by-products of the rite—water from a brāhmaṇa’s feet, fallen food, fragrances, remnants of rinsing water, and scattered darbha—are conceptually apportioned as nourishment to different classes of departed beings, including those in diminished states (preta) and those reborn in non-human forms. A major emphasis is placed on dakṣiṇā: offerings without dakṣiṇā are likened to barren rain or action done in darkness, showing that gifting and remuneration complete the ritual. It then lists post-śrāddha prohibitions: refraining from svādhyāya, avoiding travel to another village, and maintaining sexual restraint; violations are said to nullify results or misdirect the intended benefit for the ancestors. It also warns against improper acceptance of invitations and against indulgent feasting by the performer. The closing verses conclude that both the yajamāna and the participants must diligently avoid these faults to preserve the rite’s efficacy.
Shlokas
Verse 1
भर्तृयज्ञ उवाच । एतत्सामान्यतः प्रोक्तं मया श्राद्धं यथा नरैः । कर्त्तव्यं विप्रपूर्वैर्यद्वर्णैः पार्थिवसत्तम
Bhartṛyajña said: “O best of kings, I have explained in general how śrāddha is to be performed by men of the various social orders, beginning with the brāhmaṇas.”
Verse 2
अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि स्वशाखायाः स्मृतं नृप । स्वदेशवर्णजातीयं यथा स्यादत्र निर्वृतिः
Now, O king, I shall declare what is remembered in one’s own Vedic branch (śākhā), along with the practices suited to one’s region, varṇa, and community—so that there may be proper satisfaction and correctness here.
Verse 3
श्राद्धे श्रद्धा यतो मूलं तेन श्राद्धं प्रकीर्तितम् । तत्तस्मिन्क्रियमाणे तु न किंचिद्व्यर्थतां व्रजेत्
Because faith (śraddhā) is the root of the śrāddha rite, it is therefore called ‘śrāddha’. When it is performed with that spirit, nothing in it goes to waste.
Verse 4
अनिष्टमपि राजेन्द्र तस्माच्छ्राद्धं समा चरेत् । विप्रपादोदकं यत्तु भूमौ पतति पार्थिव
Therefore, O lord of kings, one should duly perform śrāddha even when circumstances seem unfavorable. For, O king, the water that has washed a brāhmaṇa’s feet—when it falls upon the earth—brings sacred benefit.
Verse 6
जाता ये गोत्रजाः केचिदपुत्रा मरणं गताः । ते यांति परमां तृप्तिममृतेन यथा सुराः । विप्रपादोदकक्लिन्ना यावत्तिष्ठति मेदिनी । तावत्पुष्करपात्रेषु पिबन्ति पितरो जलम्
Those born in one’s lineage yet dying childless—some such kinsmen—attain supreme satisfaction, like the gods satisfied by nectar. So long as the earth endures, the ancestors drink water from lotus-vessels, being moistened by the water that has washed a brāhmaṇa’s feet.
Verse 7
श्राद्धेऽथ क्रियमाणे तु यत्किंचित्पतति क्षितौ । पुष्पगन्धोदकं चान्नमपि तोयं नरेश्वर
O lord of men, when a śrāddha is being performed, whatever happens to fall upon the ground—flowers, fragrant water, food, or even plain water—becomes, in its own way, an offering.
Verse 8
तेन तृप्तिं परां यांति ये कृमित्वमुपागताः । कीटत्वं वापि तिर्यक्त्वं व्यालत्वं च नराधिप
By that fallen offering, O king, those who have become worms—indeed those who have attained the state of insects, of animals, or even of serpents—reach supreme satisfaction.
Verse 9
यदुच्छिष्टं क्षितौ याति पात्रप्रक्षालनोद्भवम् । तेन तृप्तिं परां यांति ये प्रेतत्वमुपागताः
Whatever leftover reaches the ground, arising from the washing of vessels, by that those who have become pretas attain supreme satisfaction.
Verse 10
ये चापमृत्युना केचिन्मृत्युं प्राप्ताः स्ववंशजाः । असंस्कृतप्रमीतानां त्यागिनां कुलयोषिताम्
And those of one’s own lineage who have met an untimely death—those who departed without the due rites, those who were abandoned, and the afflicted women of the family—are also included among those to be benefited.
Verse 11
उच्छिष्टभागधेयं स्याद्दर्भेषु विकिरश्च यः । विकिरेण प्रदत्तेन ते तृप्तिं यांति चाखिलाः
The scattering of the remnants upon darbha grass becomes their allotted share; and by that scattered offering, all of them attain satisfaction.
Verse 12
यत्किंचिन्मंत्रहीनं वा कालहीनमथापि वा । विधिहीनं च संपूर्णं दक्षिणायां तु तद्भवेत्
Whatever in the śrāddha may be lacking in mantras, in proper timing, or even in correct procedure—becomes complete indeed through dakṣiṇā, the honorific gift.
Verse 13
तस्मान्न दक्षिणाहीनं श्राद्धं कार्यं विपश्चिता । य इच्छेच्छाश्वतीं तृप्तिं पितॄणामात्मनश्च यः
Therefore, the wise should not perform a śrāddha devoid of dakṣiṇā—if one desires everlasting satisfaction for the Pitṛs and for oneself as well.
Verse 14
दक्षिणारहितं श्राद्धं यथैवोषरवर्षितम् । यथा तमसि नृत्यं च गीतं वा बधिरस्य च
A śrāddha without dakṣiṇā is like rain poured upon barren soil; like dancing in darkness; or like singing for one who is deaf.
Verse 15
श्राद्धं दत्त्वा च युक्त्वा च श्राद्धे निष्कामतां व्रजेत् । न स्वाध्यायः प्रकर्तव्यो न ग्रामांतरकं व्रजेत्
Having offered the Śrāddha and duly brought it to completion, one should abide in desirelessness regarding the Śrāddha. On that day one should not undertake svādhyāya (Vedic self-recitation), nor go to another village.
Verse 16
श्राद्धभुग्रमणीतल्पं तदहर्योऽधिगच्छति । तं मासं पितरस्तस्य जायंते वीर्यभोजिनः
One who partakes of the Śrāddha food and, on that very day, goes to a woman’s bed becomes blameworthy; for that month, his Pitṛs are said to subsist upon his vīrya, his vital virility.
Verse 17
श्राद्धभुक्छ्राद्धदाता च यः सेवयति मैथुनम् । तस्य संवत्सरं यावत्पितरः शुक्रभोजिनः । प्रभवंति न संदेह इत्येषा वैदिकी श्रुतिः
If either the one who eats the Śrāddha meal or the one who offers the Śrāddha engages in maithuna (sexual intercourse), then for as long as a year the Pitṛs subsist on śukra, semen alone—of this there is no doubt; thus declares the Vedic śruti.
Verse 18
श्राद्धे भुक्त्वाथ दत्त्वा वा यः श्राद्धं कुरुतेल्पधीः । स्वाध्यायं पितरस्तस्य यावत्संवत्सरं नृप । व्यर्थश्राद्धफलाः संतः पीड्यंते क्षुत्पिपासया
O King, if a dull-witted person, after eating at a Śrāddha or after offering the Śrāddha, performs it again improperly as though it were an ordinary act, then for a full year his Pitṛs are deprived of that Śrāddha’s fruit and are afflicted by hunger and thirst.
Verse 19
श्राद्धे भुक्त्वाऽथ दत्त्वा वा यः श्राद्धं मानवाधमः । ग्रामातरं प्रयात्यत्र तच्छ्राद्धं व्यर्थतां व्रजेत्
If, after eating at a Śrāddha or after offering the Śrāddha, a base man departs from there to another village, that Śrāddha becomes fruitless.
Verse 20
ब्राह्मणेन न भोक्तव्यं समायाते निमंत्रणे । अथ भुंक्ते च यो मोहात्स प्रयाति ह्यधोगतिम्
A Brāhmaṇa should not eat when an invitation has newly arrived. If, out of delusion, he eats nonetheless, he surely falls to a lower state.
Verse 21
यजमानेन च तथा न कार्यं भोजनं परम् । कुर्वंति ये नराः सर्वे ते यांति नरकं ध्रुवम्
Likewise, the yajamāna (the Śrāddha performer) should not take another meal thereafter. All men who do so certainly go to hell.
Verse 22
श्राद्धे भुक्त्वाऽथ दत्त्वा वा श्राद्धं यो युद्धमाचरेत् । असंदिग्धं हि तच्छ्राद्धं स मन्दो व्यर्थतं नयेत्
If, after eating at a Śrāddha or after giving it, one engages in fighting, then—certainly—that Śrāddha is driven to futility by that foolish act.
Verse 23
तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन दोषानेतान्परित्यजेत् । श्राद्धभुग्यजमानश्च विशेषेण महीपते
Therefore, O lord of the earth, with every effort one should abandon these faults—especially the Śrāddha-eater and the yajamāna (the performer).
Verse 218
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां षष्ठे नागरखण्डे हाटकेश्वरक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये श्राद्धकल्पे श्राद्धनियमवर्णनंनामाष्टादशोत्तरद्विशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends, in the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa—within the eighty-one-thousand-verse compilation—within the sixth, the Nāgara Khaṇḍa, in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara sacred region, in the section on Śrāddha-ritual procedure, the chapter called “Description of the Rules of Śrāddha,” being Chapter 218.