Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36
मदीयाः पितरो ये च कुले जाताः सनाभयः । तेषां पिण्डप्रदाताऽहमागतोऽस्मिन्पितामहाः
madīyāḥ pitaro ye ca kule jātāḥ sanābhayaḥ | teṣāṃ piṇḍapradātā'hamāgato'sminpitāmahāḥ
O grandfathers: for those ancestors of mine who were born in my lineage, kinsmen of the same family, I have come here as the giver of the piṇḍas, the funeral rice-balls.
Ritual formula prescribed in the narrative (addressing the Pitṛs)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A devotee kneels at the tīrtha edge with darbha and a leaf-plate of rice-balls, addressing unseen ancestors as ‘pitāmaha’ and offering piṇḍas for the whole lineage.
FAQs
Honoring one’s lineage through offerings is a key duty (pitṛ-ṛṇa) and sustains dharma across generations.
Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where ancestor offerings are described as especially efficacious.
Declaring oneself as the piṇḍa-giver to one’s ancestors as part of the śrāddha invocation at the tīrtha.
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