Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 75
महालयं न कुर्याद्वै योऽष्टम्यां मूढचेतनः । संसारसागरे घोरे सदा मज्जति दुःखितः
mahālayaṃ na kuryādvai yo'ṣṭamyāṃ mūḍhacetanaḥ | saṃsārasāgare ghore sadā majjati duḥkhitaḥ
Celui qui, l’esprit égaré, n’accomplit pas le rite de Mahālaya au jour d’aṣṭamī, sombre à jamais—dans la peine—au sein de l’effroyable océan du saṃsāra.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Setukṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka group in purāṇic setting)
Scene: A pilgrim at a sea-shore tīrtha hesitates to perform Mahālaya rites; behind him looms a dark, wave-filled ocean symbolizing saṃsāra, while unseen pitṛs wait in expectation.
FAQs
Disregard for prescribed ancestral duties perpetuates bondage and sorrow in worldly existence.
Setu-kṣetra’s ritual landscape, where Mahālaya śrāddha is urged as a key dharmic act.
Do not omit Mahālaya on aṣṭamī; it is presented as a crucial tithi for śrāddha.