Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 14
एकविंशतिवारैस्तु गयायां पिंडपातने । तत्फलं समवाप्नोति सकृदस्मिञ्छ्रुते सति
ekaviṃśativāraistu gayāyāṃ piṃḍapātane | tatphalaṃ samavāpnoti sakṛdasmiñchrute sati
En offrant les piṇḍa (boules de riz) à Gayā vingt et une fois, on obtient son fruit ; pourtant, ce même fruit s’acquiert aussi en n’écoutant qu’une seule fois ce récit sacré.
Sūta (deduced: narrative voice typical for this stream of Dharmāraṇya Māhātmya)
Tirtha: Gayā
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Sūta-saṃvāda frame)
Scene: A pilgrim offers piṇḍas on the sandy bank near Gayā while a sage recites the māhātmya; the verse’s ‘hearing once equals twenty-one offerings’ is shown as a luminous merit-scale above them.
FAQs
Śravaṇa (devout listening) to a tīrtha-māhātmya can grant merit comparable to performing major pilgrimage rites.
Gayā, renowned for piṇḍadāna and ancestral offerings.
Piṇḍapātana/piṇḍadāna at Gayā, stated as performed twenty-one times.