Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 41
कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां स्नानं च विहितं सदा । पिण्याकेंगुदकेनापि पिंडं तत्र ददाति यः । पितॄणामक्षयं भूयात्पितृलोकं स गच्छति
kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśyāṃ snānaṃ ca vihitaṃ sadā | piṇyākeṃgudakenāpi piṃḍaṃ tatra dadāti yaḥ | pitṝṇāmakṣayaṃ bhūyātpitṛlokaṃ sa gacchati
On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa), bathing is ever enjoined. Whoever there offers a piṇḍa—even with water mixed with oil-cake (piṇyāka)—bestows imperishable benefit upon the ancestors, and he goes to the world of the Pitṛs (Pitṛloka).
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (pitṛ-tarpaṇa/śrāddha tīrtha)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Pilgrims at a coastal/riverine tīrtha in Prabhāsa: a devotee completes snāna on kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī and offers piṇḍas with a small vessel of water mixed with oil-cake; subtle presence of pitṛs receiving the offering; Somnātha/Śaiva aura in the background.
FAQs
Even modest ancestral offerings, when aligned with sacred time and place, are said to yield enduring benefit for the pitṛs.
The “there” refers to the Prabhāsa/Sarasvatī tīrtha setting being described in this adhyāya.
Kṛṣṇapakṣa Caturdaśī bathing, and offering piṇḍa to ancestors—permitted even with simple piṇyāka-mixed water.