Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70
दैवे च पितृ श्राद्धे चाप्याशौचं जायते यदा । आशौचान्तेऽथवा तत्र तेभ्यः श्राद्धं प्रदीयते
daive ca pitṛ śrāddhe cāpyāśaucaṃ jāyate yadā | āśaucānte'thavā tatra tebhyaḥ śrāddhaṃ pradīyate
If, during an offering to the gods or during a śrāddha for the ancestors, a state of āśauca (ritual impurity) arises, then—either after that impurity has ended, or right there as the rite requires—śrāddha is to be duly offered for them, the Pitṛs.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced from Purāṇic Māhātmya style within Prabhāsakhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A ritual moment interrupted: messenger brings news of impurity; the officiant gestures to pause; later, the same altar scene resumes after purification, indicating continuity of dharma.
FAQs
Maintain dharmic continuity in Pitṛ-rites: if impurity intervenes, complete the śrāddha properly at the appropriate time rather than abandoning it.
Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented as a sacred setting where śrāddha and ancestral rites gain heightened merit.
If āśauca arises during daiva or pitṛ-śrāddha, the śrāddha should be offered after āśauca ends (or as directed within the rite’s context).
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